


As the World Caves In || Five Hargreeves

by konavraptor



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Apocalypse, Competition, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Feels, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Forbidden Love, Friendship/Love, Girl Power, Griddy’s Doughnuts (Umbrella Academy), Inspired by The Umbrella Academy, Love, M/M, Multi, Power Dynamics, Protective Siblings, Race, Romance, Self-Exile, Slow Burn, Sparrow Academy Student Ben Hargreeves, The Sparrow Academy (Umbrella Academy), The Umbrella Academy (TV) Spoilers, Time Loop, Time Shenanigans, Time Skips, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:14:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 64,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26904205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/konavraptor/pseuds/konavraptor
Summary: Five thought he'd saved the world not once but twice and earned himself a happy retirement back in 2019 where he belonged. Evidently, that was not to be the case when he returned to find none other than the Sparrow Academy in his very own home, replacing him and his siblings spots under Reginald Hargreaves's care. For the first time in his life Five finds someone who actually challenges him and makes him question himself every day- the Sparrow Academy's Number Five, Myra.
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves/Luther Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Original Character(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 24





	1. Prologue

_It wasn't the gunshots that stuck out, the screeching of metal, the gurgles of men and women drowning on their own blood as they lay on the floor that stuck out to the Umbrella Academy the most- no, it was the heart wrenching wailing coming from Five's mouth that struck them in a terrifying way that nothing had ever struck them before. As the noise emanated from his mouth he found himself fighting against Luther's arms wrapped around him, holding him back and keeping him from lunging forward. Luther couldn't look at his screaming brother; instead, with a grimace on his face he drug the struggling boy backwards, soft words coming from his mouth but to no avail- Five frantically clawed at his brother's arms, reached out-_

_He found himself falling through the air, grasping at what could've been, at what he'd lost, at what he'd failed to protect-_

_It took landing on the flat of his back on cold, hard asphalt for the screaming to stop. The Umbrella Academy lay on the ground, gasping for air, the dampness from the rain on the ground piercing their clothing, seeping through their skin and chilling them to the bone. A violet light washed over them from the flickering neon sign overhead and they noticed the prominent silence of the screaming. Of Five's anguish._

_They found him on his knees, body wracked with shivers and quiet sobs as he stared at his hands dripping with blood- not his. Not his blood. Oh, what Five would give for it to be his blood. In the light of the sign it appeared black, darker than the hole that had just been ripped through his heart. In that moment, Five knew it was nothing. It was all for nothing. He'd lost her. He'd lost everything good in his life. He'd failed her._

_And now, what was the point of living?_

_The siblings gathered 'round their brother, tears streaming down their faces at seeing the usually-stoic boy dissolve into a sobbing mess. He was their rock, their anchor. He was supposed to be the sane one, he was supposed to remain them on track. Seeing Five fall to pieces was killing them and so all they could do was stand around him with hands on his shoulders, soft words whispered into his ears, all to no avail._

_Five Hargreeves was completely and utterly ruined._


	2. Right Back Where We Started From

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edited this chapter a bit. WHen I originally began this story, the Sparrows were significantly younger than the Umbrellas and I had plot points to explain that but I decided to make them all the same age- I think I've fixed mostly everything but if there's any age/continuity errors let me know!

Click. Click. Click. The sound of her father's fancy grandfather clock in the corner had always annoyed her but it wasn’t until now that she realized how loud it was. She closed her eyes and sighed as she rested her head against the heavy oak door of her brother's bedroom, a porcelain plate of lukewarm chicken and asparagus threatening to slip out of her hand and spill all over the floor. Beside her was a glass of milk filled only halfway as she remembered that her brother hated milk yet father forced him to drink it anyways. With her free hand, she drummed the wooden planks of the floor with her fingers. She'd waited him out before, she didn't see a problem in doing it again. "Taylor, your dinner is going to get cold," she gently called out, her voice just loud enough to penetrate the thick wood. No response, as usual. She truly did pity him at times. Their siblings always berated him for being weak and having nothing to actively contribute yet she did not understand that. If he wanted to, Taylor could render all of them as useless as chocolate teapots, yet his heart was too kind for him to do that to the rest of them. That's why it pained Myra to see him outcast by their siblings.

"We don't see why you either bother with him anymore, Myra," a girl leered as two forms approached and stood tall over Myra's sitting form, their arms crossed.

"He's our brother, Sana" Myra dryly replied. "And you can't keep doing things like that to him. We need him. We're a team, remember?"

"Not him," the boy standing over her sneered. "What does he contribute? Nothing. Only Ben having to save our asses every time."

"Shawn, please just go back to your room," Myra sighed in exasperation.

"Well, we were on our way, but we just didn't think you needed to expend your energy on this sort of thing," Sana replied, lifting her nose slightly higher into the air.

"And what, let him starve?" Myra incredulously remarked.

"We're adults, Myra. I think he'd survive," Shawn snapped back. Suddenly, a new shadow formed in her field of view and a familiar voice hit her ears, much to her relief.

"Guys, leave the both of them alone. Come on, Taylor's gotta eat and you guys were a lot harder on him today than you shoulda been." Ben approached his siblings with an annoyed looking on his face, immediately causing the twins to back down. Their eyes flickered down to Myra once more who was beginning to stand from where she'd planted herself on the ground, the plate of food now sitting on the floor already too cold to be enjoyable. Ben grabbed Myra's arm and lifted her off the ground as the twins watched, slightly less annoyed now that Ben had arrived.

"You know they're harmless," Ben reminded Myra as she brushed herself off.

"I know… yea, I know. I just feel bad for him sometimes, you know?" Myra asked. Ben nodded, not feeling the need to find any words to reply. The twins did not have the gall to start arguing again in Ben's presence though they were silently pleased that she'd seemingly given up on waiting for their obstinate brother. They all glanced at the door, Ben leaning against the wall behind him about to open his mouth to suggest things to do when they were distracted by yet another figure turning the corner-

"Well hello," Wallace greeted in a sing-songy voice, stopping short when he saw his siblings gathered around Ben's room. "And what might you guys be doing?"

"Trying to get Taylor some food since dumb and dumber over here decided to be absolutely rude once again for no reason," Myra said while Shawn shot her a dirty look. Her sister punched her lightly in the shoulder though the mood had lightened considerably and the tension broken upon Wallace's appearance.

"Well maybe if he had an actual power to help us-" Shawn began, but Ben quickly cut him off with a stern look.

"Don't you go saying things like that or you know what he'll do to us," Ben warmed. Sana, on the other hand, seemed incredibly distracted and Myra had only just noticed her sister's brows furrowing.

"Do you guys hear that?" She questioned. The group fell silent, Wallace still confused as to what he'd just walked into but then it hit them: voices. A lot of them. People who didn't belong here, that much they could tell right away.

"Why is there a painting of Ben over the mantlepiece?" They heard an entirely unfamiliar voice remark in the distance. Ben and Myra shared a single glance before hustling to the common room, the twins and Wallace in close pursuit. Myra was entirely confused; who were the intruders in their house, where was their father, and how did they know Ben? Most of all, what was so perplexing about having Sir Reginald's number one situated above the mantle? A million thoughts were racing through her head. Sure, they'd had insane fans show up outside of their house from time to time but a group of intruders snaking by all of the security systems and all six siblings? Impossible.

They skidded to a stop as they approached the railing of the second floor that overlooked the common room just in time to hear their father speak. "I knew you'd show up eventually," they heard Sir Reginald speak to the strangers. As the siblings clustered together the peered over the edge only to see five adults and a child, not too far from their own age, all staring at their father with perplexed looks on their faces. The hairs on their skin immediately began to rise at the sight of strangers in their home, let alone strangers that their father had been expecting. No words were shared between the siblings but they stood in each other's presence, silently preparing for anything to happen. "Ben, do you know who they are?" Wallace whispered to his brother. Ben only slowly shook his head in response, never taking his eyes off the visitors.

"Dad," one of the men lowly muttered as his attention turned from the painting of Ben towards… their father. Wait; as far as Myra was concerned, she had five siblings. Only five. Now, Ben turned and shared a concerned glance with his sister, still shaking his head. Neither of them had any inkling of a clue as to what was going on.

"You're alive," another one of the men whispered. Myra was slightly taken aback when she saw the source of the voice; a giant brute of a man hidden underneath a coat. There had to have been something nonhuman about this man; humans simply did not grow that big. Her eyes marveled over the sight of him, looking over his gargantuan arms and torso that were unlike anything she'd ever seen before. More perplexing than the man's unusual size, though, was they fact that he seemed surprised that Sir Reginald was alive.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Their father coolly questioned.

"Yeah. Y-yeah you're right. I'm… I'm just happy that we're home and… together again," the brutish man spoke.

"Home?" Sir Reginald questioned. "This isn't your home."

"What are you talking about?" Now it was one of the two women who spoke. She was tall and effortlessly gorgeous, but nonetheless, a stranger to their home. "This is the Umbrella Academy."

Then, Sir Reginald gave a signal so slight, so imperceptible that only the siblings could notice it and even then, some of them nearly missed it. Beside Myra, Ben's muscles tensed as he crouched down and silently leapt over the railing, landing on the pads of his feet with barely a sound. He stood up from his crouching position behind the intruders while the rest of the siblings stood in a line against the railing, all mentally preparing themselves for a fight. Myra could already feel her fingertips tingling in anticipation.

"Wrong again. This, is the Sparrow Academy." Myra's shoulders did ease up a bit when her father acknowledged who they were and that this wasn't some insane place called the Umbrella Academy. No; they were the esteemed Sparrow Academy, a thing that Myra took incredible pride in being a part in. Anything for her father, who was the kindest man they her and her siblings knew. Truly, she could not imagine she'd be the person she was today without his kind wisdom and guidance, and now, with these intruders in her home, she would do anything to defend him. As Sir Reginald spoke the siblings moved in formation to the end of the railing behind the intruders, crossing their arms and amping up for a fight. "Dad, who the hell are these assholes?" She heard Ben's voice remark snarkily from down below, approaching the group who turned to stare in wonder at Myra and her siblings. Though, when Ben emerged from the shadows, Myra watched as all of their faces dropped into a mixture of disbelief and almost… horror? Why are they staring at Ben like that? Myra asked herself. "Shit," all of the intruders said in unison.

"You're really alive? You're… you're here?" One of the men with longer hair questioned, a freakish smile growing on his face as he approached Ben with his arms stretched out to touch his face. Suddenly, Myra watched as one of Shawn's clones appeared beside the man and swatted his arms away. Besides Myra, Ben didn't move a muscle.

"Who the hell are you? Of course I'm alive, dumbass," Ben angrily said, staying firmly planted in his position. Now, the youngest of the group whipped around and faced Sir Reginald rather angrily- he had quite a lot of spunk, Myra noted.

"So who the hell are they, huh? You decided we weren't good enough for you, saving the world isn't good enough for you?" The kid sassily asked.

"Of course you were never good enough, I never knew who you were. Though, it appears that in the course of my life whether I believed in your wild storytelling or not, I decided that it was rather obvious each and every one of you were utter failures, though you are the only one I'd consider… somewhat passable," Sir Reginald explained. "As the events played out I came to the realization that I did not want myself to have to deal with you cretins a second time, so Pogo and I carefully pored over all 43 mysterious cases for hours and hours until we came to the best six candidates for adoption that we could find." Myra didn't entirely realize what she was hearing… In fact, the only thing that made sense in his entire spiel was Pogo and the fact that her and her siblings were adopted. Utter failures? Wild storytelling? Who exactly were these people, and why did her father not want to have to do anything with them for a second time?

"So you just… replaced us?" The taller woman spoke, taking a step closer to Sir Reginald. "Everything we've done, all this time… and just like that?" She snapped her fingers.

"Don't even try and reason with him, Allison, he's the same asshole he's always been. Save the world twice and he still doesn't change," the man who questioned the painting of Ben remarked, crossing his arms and looking down at the floor.

"After all this time and you couldn't figure out we were telling the truth?" The child ranted, beginning to pace back and forth. "You know, I would think that as intelligent you are, you'd be able to figure this one out, dad!" He shouted, pointing angrily at Sir Reginald.

"I-I just… my entire life I was nothing, because of you, and now… now you're not even going to remember how you treated me?" The smaller woman said, starting in a low tone until it slowly rose into a slow-broiled anger. The brutish man simply sat their with a look of bewilderment on his face, clearly at a loss for words and suffering something more deep than confusion. The longest haired man continued to stare at Ben, the clone of Shawn standing protectively in front of his brother, staring the intruder down. The intruders voices began to grow into a wild cacophony of anguish and confusion much to the Sparrows' amusement. She could feel her siblings tensing around them as they anticipated their father's every signal with every passing second, the intruders getting closer and closer to their father as they grew angrier and angrier-

Sir Reginald whistled and unleashed hell upon the house.


	3. It Turned Into a Ballroom Blitz

The Sparrow Academy were always up for a good and hard-earned fight but the young adults did not suspect that those they were fighting would be just as powerful as them. In all of her years Myra did not see any group that could come close to her and her siblings, no matter what weapons they carried. As soon as the siblings leapt over the railing, all of the intruders dove out of the way as Ben lurched backwards and his monster burst open from his chest, flailing about for a few moments before finding their senses and snaking around the room. Myra was perplexed as it seemed as though they'd anticipated his power before he'd even begun, but now was not the time to ponder the implications of that.

Sana immediately headed for the brute of a man, raising her hands to bring the two houseplants near the man towards his neck. Their pots shattered as the roots expanded and grew, the vines and leaves stretching for the man, stretching to constrain him. Sana was glad she'd been able to convince her father to buy more plants to place around the house. The brute reached up to defend himself and attempted to tear apart the stalks barraging him. The darker-skinned man shouted something to Ben though it slipped past Myra's ears. Whatever it was must've really pissed of her brother as the tentacles climbed their way through the entrance of the room, chasing after the man who'd begun to run. Now that they'd cleared the room for Ben, everything was so much less cramped…

…until four of Shawn's clones suddenly appeared in a circle around the taller woman with devilish smiles on their faces. She saw the woman say something with a triumphant smile on her face only to be confused when the clones as well as the real Shawn began to attack her. She kept saying stuff instead of physically fighting much but nothing was happening and Myra began to think that the woman truly was crazy. Shawn's clones easily contained her while the smaller woman lifted off of the ground and began to glow with white power, directing her focus on Wallace who was charging through the room at her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," the kid with the black hair smirked, crossing his arms as he watched the woman float in the air, her eyes a ghoulish white. The woman swung her arm outwards and white light flashed through the air, hitting Wallace… and the kid's jaw dropped when Wallace continued to run, landing a punch on the woman's face and blowing her backwards. Now that he was out of energy, though, he turned tail and began to sprint through the house, taunting her and trying to get her to directly hit him with her energy once more.

While Myra watched the glowing woman chase her brother out of the room she had seemed to miss the longer haired man who had ogled Ben sneaking up the stairs behind her to do lord knows what.

As Klaus slunk up the stairs to get away from the madhouse named his siblings he laid his eyes upon a door he hadn't seen in a while: his bedroom door. "Oh, thank god," Klaus grinned, stumbling over to the door and pushing it open. He collapsed on the other side, exhausted from the fight at the farm just minutes before they'd arrived here. The carpet was a lot more plush in here than he remembered and he lay on it for a few moments, taking in the softness.

"Who are _you?"_ A voice questioned. All Klaus could do was close his eyes and sigh as he heard the door click shut.

* * *

Myra walked forward through the fray, past all of the fighting and the chasing towards the kid who was leaning with his arms crossed against one of the couches, a wide smirk covering his face as he watched her approach. "So I take it you're all that's left. Well, this shouldn't be so b-" before he could finish speaking Myra decided she wanted to wipe the smirk off of his face and raised her hand, sending a stream of electricity towards his body. She felt guilty for attacking a _child_ but nothing seemed particularly normal about this situation right now. Strangely, he disappeared and she stopped releasing the lightning from her hand only to hear his smug voice from behind her.

"Can't even bother with a civil conversation here?" She felt something kick the crook of her knee but instead of falling to the floor, she went with her momentum into a somersault and came out of it crouching facing the boy. Her arms were spread out on either side of her, palms crackling with electricity as she began to focus all of her attention on this boy. So, teleportation of some sorts- who _were_ these people?  
  
"Who are you-" Myra grunted, throwing her hand forward as a bolt of electricity shot at the boy. He stepped to the side and appeared three feet away from where the electricity had been shot, a smug smile on his face, "-and why do you keep calling my father 'dad'?" This time, she anticipated his movement and shot electricity on either side of the boy. Instead, he had simply teleported away again and she felt a presence beside her and a jarring pain run through her head. Her ears rang and her vision turned white for a few moments as she recoiled in pain from the punch. _That'll leave a mark._ Still, she'd been hit harder before and quickly stood up to face the boy but he was already gone, and knowing what he was about to do Myra charged her entire body with electricity, so that when the Boy swung at the other side of her head she heard him yelp in pain as he was given a nasty shock. She turned her head just in time to see him stumbling back, face clenched in pain from the burst of electricity. Now that Myra had the upper hand, she stretched her hand out to him and closed her eyes.

Her chest slowly rose and fall as she began to focus.

The sounds around her melted away, not important to her, the only thing registering in her ears the beat of her own heart and the beat of the boys.

She reached herself out to the boys head, everything falling into slow motion as she quickly went through all of the synapses in his brain in a matter of seconds before finding the ones she needed. _Ah, that'll do._ She clenched her hand into a fist and just as she did so, she opened her eyes and was immediately assaulted by the sounds of fighting and the image of the boy finally recovering from his shock, standing before her with an annoyed look on his face. "Because he's my dad too, idiot. And he's the reason we're in this entire mess." The boy took a step forward, obviously intending to disappear once more, but a puzzled look developed on his face as he stayed in the same spot. In fact, he did not even generate the blue glow he normally did, even when he was out of "energy". He stuck his arms out and pulled them once more, letting out a groan of frustration when he yielded the same results. Myra crossed her arms and smirked at the boy. "Having _trouble?"_

"What did you _do?"_ The boy asked with his brows furrowed.

"Made this fight a little more fair." With that, she leapt into action and swung her foot at his head. "And I'd rather not hurt a kid too bad, so don't make me." He dodged the move with ease and the two began a tango of sorts, fighting with dance across the common room, dodging flying objects, vines snaking through the air, bursts of white light and Ben's horrible tentacles snaking through the air. Both of them kept up with the other and Myra had to admit she was rather impressed with his training- even with his extraordinary power, his physical prowess was spectacular for what looked like a boy so much younger than her. Still, no matter how good at fighting he was he was no match for her constantly charged body and small strings of electricity she kept stinging him with.

From beside her, Myra heard Sana let out a pained shriek- she glanced over and caught a glimpse of the brute standing over her body on the floor with a pained look on his face. Without thinking, she reached out and closed her eyes, worming her way into the large man's brain, finding the right synapses, and clenching her fist. When she opened her eyes once more, the brute was falling to the floor completely unconscious. Myra only hoped that she'd incapacitated the man and not killed him for these people surely had something to do with their father, and she didn't want to disappoint Sir Reginald by killing them. When her eyes returned to the boy, he had a look that was made up by a combination of horror and curiosity on his face. "What are you doing?"

So, he was just as curious about her as she was him. "What I was born to do." She swung at his head which he dodged albeit rather slowly before facing her once more, holding his hands up in defeat. Myra furrowed her brows in confusion, lowering her hands slightly. Was this some sort of feint?

"Hold on, hold on. I think I want to see what else you can do," he suspiciously said. Without looking, she closed her eyes and stretched her arm out to the woman fighting Shawn, and unconsciously invaded Shawn's mind just as well. When she clenched her fist this time, it was not just the woman that fell, but her own brother as well as his clones got sucked back into his unconscious body.

"See enough?" Myra growled as she continued to attack the boy, rather annoyed that she hurt her own brother in the process.

* * *

Meanwhile, Klaus and Taylor sat in Taylor's room listened to the fray on the bottom floor of the house, both of them sitting next to each other against Taylor's bed. "They just think they're so much better than me," Taylor mumbled. Crossing his hands together and staring at the floor.

"Trust me, I get it, man. What you can do just isn't quite up to par with what they can do- and then BAM!- they don't trust you to do anything," Klaus complained in a rather showy tone.

"I know! Nothing. But I can, I know I can," Taylor explained.

"Me too. Say, what's your name again?"

"Taylor. And you?"

"I'm Klaus." He reached his hand out to shake the man's, getting an eerie feeling that he had too much in common with the man for this to be chance.

"So Klaus, what can you do?" Taylor inquired. Klaus let out a dry laugh.

"Well, you're going to think I'm crazy."

"Living with my family… well, I don't think anyone is crazy," Taylor sighed, resting his head against the bed and looking up at the ceiling. Klaus decided he was too exasperated to keep trying to maintain some semblance of sanity anymore so he began to tell the boy about his family.

"Well, let's start with Luther. He… well, he used to just have super strength, durability, yadda yadda, daddy's little pet. Now he's all that, but… well, let's just say there's some gorilla in him now, quite literally."

"And then there's Diego. A mean sonofabitch, but loving in his own sort of way. To be quite honest I've never been entirely sure what he's capable- if he throws something, he can hit whatever he wants. Telepathy of moving objects, I'd say- maybe it even has something to do with the kinetic energy of objects. I don't know, but he's been the only one to really care for me the past few years."

"Allison- she can rumor you to do whatever she wants."

"Rumor?" Taylor pondered.

"If she tells you she heard a rumor, dude, run the other way. She can make people do whatever the hell she wants- arguably the most powerful out of all of us- but the kicker? She rarely ever uses her power. It scares her," Klaus sighed.

"And then there's Five."

"Five?"

"Never took on the name that our mom gave him, liked Five better. He can manipulate the space-time continuum or some bullcrap. I don't know, he's always too high up on his horse to even try to connect with me. He's a little twerp, but… he's gotten us out of a lot of shit. And I have to say, I really do think he cares about us."

"Then…" his voice faltered as the next in line took him to Ben. Ben, who was gone forever, unable to cross into the light. Just gone. He didn't have the heart to explain Ben to the boy right now, especially considering that he was seemingly on the first floor of the house, fighting the rest of- his siblings?- Klaus didn't even know anymore. So, yes, he decided it best to skip Ben. "there's Vanya. Doomsday. She can turn manipulate soundwaves and... well, basically just blow stuff up. She caused the end of the world- twice. She's gotta complicated story but let's just say that she's "damaged goods". We all are in a way," Klaus explained.

"You never talked about yourself," the boy murmured.

"Oh, me? Right. Well," Klaus sighed. "I can… convene with the dead. Summon them. Use them for my own goals. It's really as simple as that."

"So… like, anyone that's dead, you can just talk to?" Taylor asked in wonder.

"In theory, but it's not as simple as that," Klaus sighed once more.

"That's pretty badass, why don't they think you're as good as them?"

"It wasn't until recently that I discovered the extent of… my abilities. I used to be just as useless in a fight as a twig. So, I can totally sympathize with what you're feeling," Klaus explained. "Anyways- your turn. I'm talking of talking about my misfit family."

Taylor sighed; he'd hoped Klaus hadn't asked him that. "Well, there's Ben. Ben can…"

"the monster, the horror, whatever you want to call it, I know," Klaus interrupted. Taylor turned and raised an eyebrow at Klaus who waved his hand and shook his head.

"Story for another time. Just keep going."

"Well… after Ben, there's Shawn. He can make power clones of himself. They're literally clones of himself that do whatever he wills them to do- he can simply tell them, 'go to class for me', and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It gets real annoying," Taylor explained.

"Well, how can you ever tell if it's the real Shawn or not?"

"Our powers don't work on the clones, only him."

"Ah," Klaus nodded, Taylor continuing his spiel.

"His twin, Sana- she can manipulate plants. Control them, make them grow, do whatever she wants. She's a brat, though, so I'd watch out."

"Wallace, probably the nicest out of the lot, he has power absorption. If you hit him, he just absorbs the power and throws it right back at you with double the force. He can do it with most kinds of energy, too, so that's why Myra hates fighting with him."

"Then, there's Myra," Taylor sighed. "She can generate and manipulate electricity. And she's damn smart, too, smarter than any of us so much to our pleasure she realized that she can use that to affect the synapse and electrical impulses in people's brains and bodies. That's a really fun one, for sure. Tires her out pretty quickly, though."

"And what about Taylor?" Klaus innocently inquired.  
  
"Taylor- well, he's just a void," Taylor explained. "If I want, I can make anybody's power within a certain radius of me null. They just can't use their abilities."

"And you can switch it on and off?"

"Yup. Which is why I don't understand why they don't take me seriously- I could get them all killed if I really wanted to," Taylor sighed. Klaus sat in thought for a few moments.

"Well, Taylor, whaddya say we go down there and save all of our siblings? If you can do your thing for just a few minutes, maybe dad- Reginald- can explain some things to me and my siblings. And you can prove to them that you're not as useless as they think," Klaus added. Taylor stayed silent for a few moments, twiddling his thumbs and pondering the thought in his head. Perhaps Klaus was right- in this situation he'd save all of their asses by effortlessly stopping the attackers- and they'd thank him for saving them. But perhaps he wasn't and they'd be resentful that he didn't allow them to finish their own fights, ostracize him, outcast him even more-

"Fuck it. Let's do it," Taylor sighed, getting to his feet. Klaus grinned.

"Yea, that's the spirit!" He laughed as he followed Taylor out of his room- their room- and venturing through the hall only to be met by an insane sight over the railing. It as absolute madness with Ben unleashing his fury on Diego, Five and Myra locked in an intense hand-to-hand battle- Klaus noted how strange it was that he wasn't even attempting to jump- Luther, Allison, and a boy Klaus assumed was Shawn laying on the ground incapacitated. Vanya was having a heated battle with who Klaus imagined was Wallace who was absorbing every hit and throwing it right back at Vanya who was beginning to scream out of frustration. Klaus and Taylor gripped the railing, watching the scene before them when Klaus noticed Sir Reginald standing before the heart, staring firmly at both Klaus and Taylor. Klaus and Taylor shared a glance before Klaus nodded his head.

And that was it.

Taylor didn't have to make any fancy moves or say any words.

The tentacles slithered back into Ben's body as his face turned into a scowl and he immediately scanned the room for his brother. The plants that Sana had snaking towards the air at Diego dropped onto the floor with a quiet smack, Sana groaning in frustration. Klaus watched Vanya fall to the floor and hitting the ground rather hard, rolling onto her back as she groaned in a daze. Wallace stood panting, staring at the fallen girl but making no more moves against her. Diego stood staring at Ben and Sana, chest heaving heavily as they stood in a triangle of mistrust. "Oh, did we interrupt something?" Klaus innocently asked the group. All eyes traveled towards them, towards Taylor who was standing still with an almost imperceptible smirk on his face. Much to their surprise, Myra and Five did not stop in their combat, though Myra immediately noticed the lack of electricity running through her body. She suspected Taylor had finally come out of his room but didn't have the time to thank him- she continued to fight with the boy, both drawing much blood from each other and forming many bruises on the other. Now everyone's eyes ventured to Myra and Five who were locked in ferocious combat until one voice boomed above all-

"That is _enough!"_ Sir Reginald shouted, his voice booming through the common room stopping both Five and Myra where they stood. Their hands dropped to their sides as they sheepishly looked at their father.


	4. Had to Stop For the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first 1:1 and cryptic messages. Also, this story will be more of a slow burn (because Fivesy isn't exactly the loving type and we need him to make his way there) so if that ain't yo thing

After Sir Reginald kindly asked Myra to awaken the two adults and Shawn, Five curiously followed her as she first made her way to her brother. She placed her hand on Shawn's temple, closed her eyes, and watched in amazement as he sat up, rubbing his head where he'd hit it when he fell and glaring at Myra. "You really couldn't control yourself?" He seethed. "I was doing fine, I had it!" Myra simply rolled her eyes and moved onto the woman while Five continued to watch Shawn.

So, they can remember everything right up until passing out. Good to know, Five noted. When his sister woke up she was entirely confused, staring at the figure of the girl making her way over to Luther, looking around the room for answers until her eyes landed on Five. "What-"

"Don't ask," Five sternly told her, stepping over her legs to follow Myra over to Luther, who was already recovering from his unconsciousness. It was then that Myra noticed Five following her like a lost puppy and rolled her eyes, scoffing at the boy before returning to where her siblings were grouping by their father. The strangers were similarly gathering around Luther, who was still laying confused on the floor where he'd fallen. Klaus and Taylor had made their way down to the common room though they stood in a separate third group by themselves, quietly snickering and making fun of their siblings to each other. As the two groups settled by each other and took comfort in the familiar presences their eyes all turned to Sir Reginald who was absolutely fuming. "I have to say, after the hospitability I've shown you in the past, for you to come to my house and attack my children and ruin my home- I'm incredibly disappointed and it shows the very reason I chose individuals other than you six to raise. Good day," he said, stepping over the remains of a broken vase. "And Sparrows-" he turned to looked at the Sparrow Academy before departing the room, "-be hard-pressed to believe what these fools tell you." With that, Sir Reginald disappeared into a hallway where Pogo had suddenly materialized, giving all of the individuals a strange look before following Sir Reginald away.

Now that their father was gone and Taylor still having his powers "on", the two groups stared at each other in bewilderment and curiosity, until Ben stepped forward to the front of the Sparrow Academy, arms crossed with an annoyed look on his face. "Look, you guys need to leave. We don't know what's going on, and none of it makes sense, but this is our home and he's our father. After everything he's given to us and the kindness he's showed us-"

"What? Kindness?" Diego blurted out in utter disbelief. "We're talking about the same guy, right?"

"Think twice before your next words, buddy," Wallace stepped forward beside his brother. Vanya scowled at the boy.

"Guys- come on. They have no clue what's going on. If we tell them, maybe they can help us," Five stepped in between the groups though he remained facing his siblings before lowering his voice. "They're just like us." Myra curiously watched the boy, finding him and his power entirely intriguing and wondered why he was so much younger than the rest of them.

* * *

"-the Handler is finally dead, the apocalypse stopped, and now we're here," Five finished, standing in front of both groups as he finally got done regaling his entire story. It had to have been nearly an hour since he stood before the Umbrella and Sparrow Academy to tell his story. Taylor and Klaus had slunk off to find something to eat, and while Taylor wouldn't have minded if the others starved, Klaus suggested they bring a bite to eat back to their siblings. So, the groups sat on the floor before Five, munching on popcorn and cheeseballs as they listened to Five fervently tell his tale. After Five finished, there was silence. The Sparrow Academy digested everything they'd just heard, until Shawn blurted out- "It's nonsense. You really think we're going to believe that you used to be us, and you meeting our father for a few minutes in the past made him choose us instead of you guys? That in the past- well, the present- whatever it is, we were normal children? We didn't know what we could do?"

"It's impossible, dad was right. We should've never listened to a word you imposters said," Sana seethed next to her twin. Myra sat in contemplation before speaking up.

"It's not impossible. You've seen his powers- what he can do. If he can truly manipulate the space-time continuum as it appears, then if was smart enough to make the correct calculations to tear through the continuum- which I doubt he is- then it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility," Myra reasoned. All eyes fell to her and Five was considerably impressed with her intellect, though he was still concerned as to what she'd done with his powers. Now was not the time for that argument, though, since it appeared as though the boy with Klaus had nulled all of their abilities for the time being.

"Listen to her, idiots," Five ranted, beginning to pace back and forth.

"No, don't," Myra countered. "Just because it's possible doesn't mean it's true- for all we know they're just trying to get rid of us and take our place-"

"And why exactly would we want to do that?" Five responded with a sarcastic grin appearing on his face.

"Stop it!" Luther shouted, causing all eyes to turn to him. "Five- we need some rest. We went from taking on whoever those people were at the farm to this- it's been more than a day since any of us have slept." Five nodded, annoyed, but he knew that Luther was right.

"If you'll be so kind in letting us find a place to rest in our house-" Five began, but Ben cut him off.

"Our house. And yes, Grace can set up a place for you to get some rest," Ben interrupted, easing the tensions in the room. Klaus and Taylor smugly sat in the corner as they munched on some Poptarts Taylor had hidden in the back of the kitchen out of sight from his siblings.

"Grace?" Diego murmured, his eyes venturing throughout the room until he saw her.

Her.

His mother.

Grace.

Grace gave a polite smile and nodded, retreating into the hallway to immediately begin to prepare a place for the adults to sleep.

At once, Diego rose to his feet and followed the woman out of the room, the Sparrows curiously watching him follow their mother. After murmuring a few quick things to each other, the rest of the Umbrella Academy rose to their feet and followed, cautiously skirting around the sitting Sparrows who eyed them suspiciously. "Come on, guys, it's nighttime. We should probably get some rest too because I think we have some looonngg days ahead of us," Ben ordered his siblings. Not wanting to argue with their brother, the Sparrows all stood up and followed Ben up the stairs to their rooms, casting one last suspicious look at Five who remained staring at the burning fireplace in contemplation. Klaus and Taylor bade each other a quick goodbye before Klaus scrambled off after his siblings and Taylor sullenly followed his up the stairs. They hardly acknowledged him. As the Sparrows went up the stairs, Myra paused at the bottom, turning back to glance at Five who collapsed into an armchair. "I'll be right up, guys," Myra softly informed her siblings who merely grunted in response. She turned and made her way back to the heart, cautiously approaching the chair the boy was in. "I'm afraid I never got the chance to properly introduce myself. I'm Myra." She reached her hand out for the boy to shake but he dismissed it and she furrowed her brows in disgust as he simply waved his hand. He really was a strange boy.

"I'm Five. Sit," he told her. She went and perched herself in her father's armchair though she liked to imagine it was because of her own accord and not because he told her to. Five stared at his hands, trying harder than anything in the world to get them to produce their familiar blue glow but no matter what, nothing would give and it would not appear. "So, Myra- what did you do to me? How did you stop my power and the rest?"

"That wasn't me. My brother, Taylor- if he wants, he can settle a certain kind of blanket over an area- a void, almost, to make all of our powers null," Myra explained.

"Okay, but mine went out far quicker than the rest. And that… that doesn't just happen."

Myra sighed. "If you didn't notice, dimwit, electricity is kind of my thing. And it just so happens that brains and bodies-"

"-have synapses. Electrical impulses," Five finished, figuring out the puzzle just as soon as she'd begun to explain it. "You can manipulate those, too?" He asked in astonishment. Myra nodded.

"Read minds, control them- what I can do goes far past just creating some lightning with my fingers though that's always a plus," Myra explained. Five nodded, resting his chin in his hand as he never broke eye contact from the warm fire in the hearth. They were silent for a few moments before Myra broke it. "For what it's worth, I think I believe you."

"Thanks," Five mumbled through his fingers, not seeming to care all that much. Myra stared into the fire for a few moments with him, trying to figure out what he was so mesmerized by.

"So… what's your next move?" Myra curiously inquired. It was to that question the Five truly got stuck on. For most of his life he'd spent years and years with one goal: prevent the apocalypse. Sure, he'd been stuck as the last man left on Earth for too long a time but he never doubted that he'd find a way to fix things, and, at the end of the day, that's exactly what he did. Now, though… Five didn't have a specific goal to work for. He didn't have something to delve into, to commit himself into, to tear apart and analyze every waking second. So yes, Myra's question had him seriously stumped.

"I'm not sure. For some reason I get the feeling that nothing is ever that simple with our family," Five mumbled, half of it to himself.

"I'm not sure what dad- Sir Reginald- plans on doing about this situation."

"He may not have to do anything."

Myra furrowed her brows. "What's that supposed to mean?" Five let out a loud sigh and still remained staring into oblivion while he contemplated whatever was running through his mind.

"If we lay low, nothing will have to be done. Stay out of sight, try to stay low profile… Still, I can't imagine leading a life with no particular goal in mind," Five explained and Myra got the feeling that he was almost speaking to himself and forgetting that she was there. "And I can't imagine keeping my family out of trouble for the rest of their lives." They sat for a few more moments in silence. She didn't know what to say; she supposed she did not expect these people to lay down so easily, to give up the place that they considered their home, their mother, their father.

"I'm not quite sure how to feel about all of this yet, but I guess in a way… we're siblings?" Myra pondered.

"Not a clue. I want to err on the side of the possibility that we're not due to the fact that two of my 'brothers' are in relationships of short with two of my… our, 'sisters,'" Five explained. Myra raised one eyebrow and turned her head to look at him in comic disbelief. He finally broke his oblivious trance and saw her expression and turned away while shaking his head. "Trust me, I know."

"I'm sure we could find a way to coexist here- if my siblings got the notion that you guys could help us train and get stronger…" Myra's voice trailed off when Five started to speak.

"They might tear you to pieces when they see how dad treats you guys." Myra's heart skipped a beat; was Five insinuating that her father was rude or abusive to them in any way, shape, or form? She'd never met a more kind-hearted man in her entire life, though he had a short fuse, he was the standard that Myra held all men to-

"You can't try and tell me that you think he's a bad father? I mean, Five, he's… he's the best man I've ever met. Selfless. The best father anyone could ask for."

"From the way you "Sparrows" talk about him, I could tell. But unfortunately that's not the way he treated us while growing up, and for that my siblings will resent you. Always. I'm indifferent to the fool but my family… they won't take so kindly to see you guys being treated in ways we'd only dream of," Five softly explained, twirling a pencil that had seemingly materialized out of nowhere in his fingers. His face was only slightly twisted into a wishful expression full of thought and Myra wanted to reach out, to peer into his mind but in the short time she had come to known him she respected him too much to do that. She could not imagine a timeline where Sir Reginald had treated his children like Five claimed. It simply could not comprehend in her brain- though, when he was speaking to the Umbrella Academy after Five had brought them here she supposed there was a sharp coldness in his tone that she'd never heard before. She didn't think anything of it as he was angry a group of strangers had teleported right into the center of his house- rightfully so- but perhaps there was more truth to Five's words than Myra thought.

It was then and only then that Myra realized she was absolutely exhausted. Unlike Five, she hadn't had years and years of physical training that was practiced in the field. She was only thirty; Five was over fifty years old. So, when she stood up to retreat to bed she didn’t feel so bad about herself. She'd help up against him, after all, even if he wasn't able to use his powers like she'd been. "It's been… well, it's been something meeting you, Five, that's for sure. You can probably figure out where mom took your siblings to sleep, I don't think you'll exactly need a tour of the place. I need to get to bed." She turned and began to venture away from the armchair when she heard something from behind her.

"Wait," Five called out. When Myra turned with a curious look Five was standing up. "You never gave me my powers back."

Oh. Right. Sighing, she reached out her hand and closed her eyes, focusing and listening to his every breath, every heartbeat, allowing her consciousness and her abilities to venture into his nerves, travel through his nervous system until she reached the familiar feeling of someone's brain. Her consciousness traveled through his brain so rapidly out of instinct; without having to know exactly what synapse to fire she knew exactly where to go, and when she opened her eyes, she knew the deed had been done. The boy suddenly blinked out of existence and he reappeared on the other side of the room, his shoulders sagging in relief. "Well, I suppose I'll see you again, Myra."

Strange, Myra thought to herself. Grace promised them all a rather large breakfast and Myra knew she'd be delighted to cook for another six…

"See you at breakfast, Five."


	5. Shrouded in Mystery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five disappears, surprise surprise, and Klaus is just as cryptic as ever

Was the Sparrow Academy all that surprised when they were roused by Grace the next morning to find only Klaus and Vanya remaining? Not entirely. In fact, the most surprising part was that two of them had even decided to stay. Myra had been the first of the siblings to discuss the anomaly as she'd risen before the sun, and though she tried to allow the Umbrella Academy to get their rest these strangers were just too curious to leave alone. So, when the sun was just beginning to peak through the windows of the house she curiously peeked into the room that they were sleeping in only to find the assortment of blankets and pillows Grace had retrieved for them folded neatly in the corner of the room, nobody to be seen.

When she'd arrived at the kitchen, she found only the one named Klaus and the small woman named Vanya sipping out of mugs at the kitchen table while Grace prepared a rather large breakfast composed of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and hashbrowns. "Where are the rest of you?" Myra cautiously inquired.

"Don't know. Decided to go make new lives for themselves, I guess." Klaus's eyes scanned the newspaper on the table in front of him as she sipped on a cup of coffee. While Sir Reginald hated coffee, Wallace had grown an affinity for it and so there was always coffee stocked in the Sparrow Academy's pantry.

"Did they… say where they were going?"

Now it was Vanya who spoke as she shook her head. Her voice was faint and quiet. "No. Just away, now that everything is over."

"They're not going to come back and face… our father?" Myra asked incredulously. She couldn't imagine all of them just… walking away. Leaving. Not even attempting to sort out the mess that they'd walked into

"Sometimes it's just easier to walk away," Klaus told her as a wistful slipped out of his mouth, seemingly reading her mind. He didn't seem all that eager to chat, and Vanya threw the girl an unapologetic look but offered no other words. Still, Myra didn't want to leave them alone, didn't want these ones to slip out of her grasp just as easily as the others. She couldn't determine whether her father would be upset at their disappearance or not but she did not want to be the one to tell him. I'll just make Ben do it, he's the favorite, after all. She quietly approached Grace from behind. "Hey, mom, can you go wake up everyone else? I can finish these for you."

"Of course, dear!" Grace said with an exuberant smile on her face, handing Myra the spatula she'd been working the eggs with before sharply turning and marching out of the room with the same robotic pace she'd always had. Grace disappeared and Myra lazily began keeping an eye on the eggs.

Vanya hadn't been able to sleep the previous night with images of Sissy and Harlan still flashing through her head. Her waking up to Sissy's kind eyes after losing her memories, Sissy making the case to her husband as to why they should allow Vanya to remain as a live-in nanny until someone came looking for the missing girl… their first kiss. She could nearly feel the tickle of Sissy on her mouth, oh so sweet, something she'd been lacking her entire life. And Harlan… Vanya felt immensely guilt for what she'd put the boy through and she'd had no time to repay him or help him heal. She had just left. Left them both in the past. Vanya only hoped that they found peace and she decided that her first move in this new world was going to be to look for any indication of what had happened to the woman and her son, who could likely still be alive. Vanya supposed he'd be near sixty by now but… she wasn't sure what would've happened to him after Sissy had passed on.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of angry stomping and all three people in the kitchen turned their heads only for their eyes to meet a fuming Ben who stood in the doorway. "You let them go?"

"They left while we were all asleep, dungbrain," Myra snapped. Ben processed the information for a few moments, visibly upset that the Umbrella Academy- well, most of them- had managed to slip from their grasp. And the two that were left were not particularly helpful for solving this mystery in Ben's eyes, though he supposed Taylor may be able to get through to the man.

"Where'd they go?" Ben's head snapped to Vanya as he searched for answers.

"I--, I don't know," her voice faltered.

"I wouldn't bother looking," Klaus lazily drawled as his eyes remained trained on the paper. Myra noticed it was almost as if he couldn't bear bringing his eyes to her brother for some reason. Odd, Myra thought to herself but decided that she was just overthinking things. A few times in the few seconds that passed she nearly succumbed to the temptation of combing through his brain but decided against it. "They're long gone by now. They said they wanted new lives, offered to help me, but I'd like to stick close by. For now. I know they'll be back. Things aren't so simple with time.

"Five said the same thing," Myra mumbled under her breath. Ben remained scowling in the doorway. Myra already knew that he was upset at the fact that dad would likely be disappointed, but so was she. That was just one less thing she needed on her mind right now other than dealing with the idea that they had not been Father's first choice in children. As good as the man was she knew she would have a hard time facing him when he returned from wherever his anger had brought him to. The figures of Shawn and Wallace crashing against each other as they skidded to a stop behind Ben shook Myra back to the present and she couldn't help but chuckle as Wallace innocently inquired as to whether breakfast was ready or not.

* * *

"So we're just going to… let them go?" Sana said aloud while the group chattered over food and Grace graciously kept their cups filled with orange juice. Myra's sister seemed to have improved in mood overnight and she was glad as her behavior the previous day had been unbearable. Still, her sister remained her closest sibling. After all, they needed each other when ganged up upon by their brothers.

"What could we even do? Dad's not going to want us to hunt them down," Ben said, setting his glass down on the table and licking the remaining orange juice off of his lips. Sana sat back in her chair with her arms crossed. She opened her mouth to say something back but in order to ease the tension Wallace focused his attention on Vanya and Klaus at the end of the table. "So what are your guys' plans?"

"I have some loose ends I need to tie up before… well, I don't know, back to doing what I was before, I suppose. Playing the violin," Vanya meekly explained. She had not touched her food, Myra noticed.

"I'm sticking around the city to wait for my dearest siblings come crawling back to dad, which is why you shouldn't bother chasing after them. They’ll be back, alright" Klaus chuckled before shoving a large portion of pancake into his mouth and chewing it with ferocity. Myra continued to chew on both her eggs and her thoughts. As Five had said, he couldn't imagine living a life without some sort of goal at the end. Perhaps the insanity boredom brought would end up drawing him back to their father? After all, he constantly stressed to the Sparrow Academy that the real reason they were training was to prevent the end of everything, whatever that meant. Her ears quickly picked up the sound of her siblings resuming normal chatter over the table, arguing whether pancakes or waffles were the superior breakfast food, whether bacon or sausage was a better protein in the morning, so on and so forth. The kind of nonsense that put her at ease. Whether she liked it or not she felt the most at home when she was with her siblings and she wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world.

* * *

After Vanya bade a quick goodbye she slipped out of the kitchen rather unnoticed by most of them, seemingly eager to tie up whatever loose ends she'd left in the pass. She was certainly a strange character, or so Myra thought. Just shy. Klaus and Taylor were eagerly talking to each other as Klaus had snatched Wallace's seat next to Taylor when Wallace retreated to the bathroom. Myra couldn't help but feel happy that her brother had connected with someone and found someone she supposed seemed a lot like himself. But, all good things must end and as the siblings helped Grace clean the mess of a kitchen Klaus had stood and begun his goodbyes with his newfound friend. Myra overheard him promise Taylor that he would be okay and he would get through things, and that Klaus was going to stay in the city but he didn't want Reginald to see or speak to him. He gave Taylor a quick hug goodbye and Myra turned to continue drying the pan Grace had scrubbed clean before feeling a hand on her shoulder. "Myra?"

"Yea?" Myra turned around only to find Klaus's face. She stopped drying the pan for a few moments, curious as to what the man had to tell her.

"You seem like a good kid. Keep these ones in line, and-" he leaned in close and placed his lips near her ear to say something that Klaus wanted only her to hear. "-when the Owl decides it's midnight, don’t let Ben turn." He quickly redrew his head and strolled out of the kitchen, walking with a swagger that suggested he was dancing to music that only he could hear. Meanwhile, Myra stood with her brows furrowed as she contemplated the cryptic message he had just told her. She watched the enigmatic man disappear just as Vanya had, just as quickly gone as he was there. "Nutcase, huh?" Shawn muttered from beside her, taking the pan from her hands before placing it back into the cupboard where it belonged. Her eyes ventured to Ben who was laughing with Sana and sweeping under the table, their Number One, the strongest of them all, the one Reginald Hargreeves had chosen to lead the Sparrow Academy. What could possibly cause Klaus to think that there was something about his power that shouldn't be unleashed?

* * *

  
As the morning faded to afternoon and the sun melted away turning the landscape into night, Myra found herself alone laying on the roof as she often, staring up into the night sky while the noises of the city blended to quiet all around them. When they were children Sir Reginald had always insisted they come up here to apply their knowledge after their astronomy lessons. Laying on their backs that were rested on yoga mats they'd brought with them they would melt into each other's presence and into meaningful conversations, talking about things just as deep as any other children would talk about. Now, though, she was grown up and alone on the roof, allowing herself to get lost in the stars above her, chewing over Klaus's cryptic warning but most of all, wondering what Five was getting himself into now.


	6. On the Shores of Kokomo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five grew up and so did the world

**EIGHT YEARS LATER**

Bright green waves gently lapped on the ivory sand, rolling onto the ground before receding back into the warm shallows of the ocean, sending salty sprays into the air to infiltrate the nostrils of any living being around. Over and over the cycle continued, water finding its way to land before being reclaimed from the depths it came. Overhead, the sun casted its light down on the beach and created a dazzling glare when combined with the white sand; so much so that the trader with his sensitive eyes could not bring himself to even look in the direction of the beach. The distant but loud cawing of seagulls rang in his ears as he carried the sack loosely slung around his shoulder through the worn path in the edge of the jungle that bordered the beach, the sound of human voices and singing beginning to mix with the birds.

As he breached the edge of the jungle he laid his eyes upon the small coastal village he came to nearly every day to trade and occasionally, to learn of news from the outside world. Other than that, the trader liked to keep to himself in his small hut not far off from the village on the edge of the beach, situated in a cozy niche in the jungle he'd cleared for himself with tools from the village. Though he was an outsider, nothing like them, they inhabitants had accepted him with enthusiasm and made him one of their own. Every once in a while he'd catch word of strange individuals in America who fought crime, and sometimes the rare newspaper slipped into the village, but Five never bothered to listen to that much. Everything he'd done had been for his family and now he was doing something for himself for once. The trader approached the wooden stall he did his first stop of the day at, greeting the man standing on the other side of it. The hutch was situated just on the edge of the sand, a boat visible behind him floating in the water slightly out from shore. When the trader greeted the man Portuguese emerged fluently from his mouth, traces of an accent audible but nevertheless, he spoke it nearly just as well as the people who were born, raised, and eventually laid to rest there. He swung the sack around to the front of his body, grasping the objects inside and pulling them out to set them on the counter.

The man greeted the trader with a warm smile before lifting the chain of furry, inanimate objects dripping with blood; the squirrels and rabbits the trader had brought in were in such great abundance. The trader always brought more wild game to the village than they'd ever seen before and nearly all of it was in perfect condition with only their necks slightly cracked and lolling to the side, strange considering even the most delicate of traps would almost always end in some sort of bloody carnage on the body. The man told the trader what his catch today was worth, the trader simply nodding. He never argued. The man reached below the wooden counter to place the animals under it whilst grabbing another two canvas sacks. He set them on the counter and just to inspect them, Five peered into the bags to see the fresh fish the fisherman had traded him for his game. After sharing a few more sentences with each other, the trader departed the stall, glancing into the village to see who was out today. Out of instinct, his head went the other way to look at the beach to watch the children play their sand games-

When the trader saw who stood on the beach, he dropped both of his bags, the fish spilling out onto the sand, some of them even weakly flopping their tails and wriggling about each other. The trader's eyes widened in disbelief and he stared at the newcomers who were walking towards him from the boat they'd arrived in, so silent, so quickly-

"Five?" The young woman cautiously called out. Five's eyes ventured over the young woman he'd met six years ago, then only a girl who'd nearly gotten the best of them in their fight, his counterpart Number Five- she'd filled out splendidly, he noticed, but shook his head to snap out of the thoughts. He often felt ashamed when his twenty-one-year-old body found itself attracted to females his own age- after all, he was well over sixty years old, so he had decided to fight the physical thoughts with utter ferocity. But, there was something different about her. Something in her face wasn't the same, beyond the typical changes puberty had brought. Her eyes were… different. Walking next to Myra was another familiar shape. Five noticed two incredible things: both of them did not appear to be nearly as old as they should be. Myra should've still been a good twenty years older than him but she appeared nearly the same age. The other figured seemed to appear the same; Five knew Diego looked after his body pristinely but he looked younger than Five had ever seen him albeit when they were children. The two of them looked to be right around Five's age as they approached him.

"Myra? Diego?" Five called out. He'd completely forgotten about the fish he'd traded for as they lay wriggling in the sand, mischievous children already shoving them back into the sacks and shaking the sand off of them as best as they could. The rest of the village was incredibly quick to notice the newcomers and had already gathered a crowd of sorts on the edge of the sand, suspiciously watching the newcomers approaching the boy that they'd adopted as their own. Soon, Myra and Diego drew close to Five. Relief was etched on Diego's face at having finally tracked down his brother- he had missed the sucker, and while he'd never admit it, things had certainly been more difficult without Five's brain and powers. Myra's face was a little more cautious, curious- she'd barely known the boy for twenty four hours before he'd disappeared to his new life- which happened to be Brazil. Still, there was a sense of eagerness visible on her face- she'd been looking for him fervently.

So, it was with great surprise and disbelief they reacted with when Five coldly whipped around and began marching down the beach away from the village.

Myra and Diego shared a glance before quickly following Five, trying to match his swift pace. "I told you, Diego, I didn't want to be found," Five huffed as he marched away. Myra couldn't help but notice that puberty had certainly done him a great kindness, his hair shaggy and black perfectly fitting his features that had been so carefully defined, his eyes, when he'd been facing her, were just as bright as the sky, as bright as his power when he decided to use it. But she couldn't help but feel weird that he was over sixty years old so decided to not pay as much attention to him as she would've liked.

"So what, you're just going to walk away? Again?" Diego called out.

"I've done enough. Can I not just have some peace and quiet?"

"You've had your peace and quiet, Five. But we need you. The world needs you," Diego replied. It was only then that Five stopped in his tracks and whipped around, an intense look glued onto his face. To Myra and Diego's surprise he marched right up to Diego, pointing a stiff finger in his face.

"The world needed me once and what did it get me, Diego? I did my job, I saved my family, but god dammit I need more time to myself," Five said, nearly shouting in his brother's face. Myra had not spoken up until then besides calling out his name, and as the two brothers stared into each other's eyes with intense ferocity, she stepped closer to Five.

"Five, we've done everything we could. But we just… we need you," she softly told him. Five's stare traveled from his brother to her but didn't lose any of the intensity.

"Oh, you guys weren't good enough for daddy dearest either?" Five spit out with venom.

"Don't talk to her like that. She's trying to help us," Diego warned in a low tone.

"Yea? And whaddya gonna do, Diego, throw something at me-" before he could finish, Diego had already taken a throwing knife out of his belt and whipped it at Five faster than Myra's eyes could comprehend, seemingly missing as Five blinked out of existence and landed behind Diego. He kicked the back of Diego's back causing Diego to fall on all fours.

"Oh, you didn't want to do that," Diego growled, jumping back up to his feet. Myra turned and could see Five clutching his arm where the knife must've nicked him, staring at the blood furiously. Meanwhile, Diego came at Five and threw a hard punch but Five blocked it with his forearm, grunting from the lack of protection on his bone. He quickly retaliated and the two began to fight viciously though neither was going for anything too particularly harmful, Five using his advantage of teleporting but Diego anticipating his every move and challenging him with a knife. Myra watched the two brothers continue to spar, feeling utterly helpless so she reached her hand out, a tendril of lightning lightly tapping Five's back- with that attack she channeled a slight amount of it through his skull, to a specific pathway in the brain-

Five fell to the sand, limbs shaking with electricity as he cursed in pain, grunting as he landed on the sand. He was grateful it was soft and just as the electricity had came it was gone, Myra only using what she had to for a split second to get them to calm down. Diego looked to her and then back to Five who was groaning on the ground but didn't try to retaliate, and Myra offered no words of wisdom. Instead, the pair watched as Five rolled onto his back and slightly propped himself up, leaning his weight on his elbows as he craned his neck up at Myra's. For the first time in eight years their eyes met.

"Is it true?" He murmured, mind reeling from what Myra had put into his brain with her own synapse she'd fabricated on her own. Five didn't begin to try and understand the implications of her learning to do that before Diego, as always, butt in.

"What all did you show him, Myra?' Diego questioned. Myra sighed.

"Enough to get him to come back… I hope."

* * *

"So, what exactly were you showing me?" Five asked as Diego navigated the boat away from the shoreline of the village. The inhabitants sadly waved goodbye. They'd come to like their outsider friend, and as Five watched their figures fade away he felt… forlorn. He'd never really connected with many people nor really cared for anyone outside of his family, but these people… they meant something to him. He thought he'd drown in misery living a life without a goal so he decided to keep it simple but the villagers brought him a peace that he'd never felt before. He'd come to truly care for them over the years. He swore that one way or another he'd return back here one day. Beyond the melancholy, though, was utter confusion. He knew what he'd seen, but he supposed seeing the image of Myra running from a gigantic lizard was something he never thought he'd have to process.

"It's a long story," Myra told him, staring off over the edge of the boat while Diego navigated through the ocean. They were about a mile offshore but the coastline was mostly wild with a few odd villages or houses sprinkled in here and there.

"Well, as far as I remember the closest city is about an hour away so I'd say we have plenty of time," Five said, leaning back onto the cushioned seat and spreading his arms out along the edge of the boat. The salty spray hit him lightly in the back of the head with every wave they hit, Myra's bright blonde hair gleaming in the sun as it billowed out behind her in the wind. She sighed. She didn't want to have to regale this story again but Five would understand more than anyone else, she supposed. She wonder if he'd changed as much as her the past eight years in his Brazilian solitude. Five, on the other hand, was getting used to forming English words with his mouth again to another live human being instead of himself or delusions of Delores. He hardly recognized the girl in front of him that he'd met so long ago and secretly been a little jealous of if only for the fact that their father clearly treated her better than he ever did the Umbrella Academy.

"You've missed a lot," Myra began, drawing her eyes from the gaze over the ocean back to Five. "And I'm afraid things have only just begun."


	7. What We've Missed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five learns what he left behind and it doesn't sound great...
> 
> And, his siblings are reunited with their now grown up little???? big??? brother to guilt him into saving the world once again

"The first thing I want answers to is why the hell the both of you look so damn young."

Myra and Diego shared a look but neither of them answered the question directly.

"Do you remember Harlan?" Diego asked from the front of the boat, turning his head over his shoulder so that Five could hear him.

"The boy with Vanya?" Five asked, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't imagine what a child back in the 1960s had to do with anything going on today, especially after Vanya took her powers back from him. Diego nodded and Five's head returned back to Myra when he heard her begin to speak again.

"Harlan was one of our father's closest friends before we came around, once he got old enough. Dad always told us that Harlan was extraordinary and one of the most powerful beings in the world… if you'd stuck around long enough you would've heard his name. He was a real-life Superman to people, a real stand up guy. Anyways, him and dad worked together a lot. Dad was kind of the man with the computer, you know? Well, Harlan had a kid. A lot happened but it's not really relevant now, is it? The kid disappeared, presumably dead, and Harlan committed… well, he killed himself out of grief. That was right before we were born." Five furrowed his brows as he processed everything Myra was telling him. How much had they changed the timeline? A superhero… did Vanya not take everything away from the boy? He supposed it was good that he went the other direction than Vanya and used his powers to help the world though that entire mystery still puzzled him. What was this leading to? Myra continued her story on seeing Five had no questions to ask.

"Well, about three years ago a man came to dad claiming to be Harlan's kid. I guess dad kind of laughed in his face, but after a while, he called all of us to come back and test this kid out. See if he really had Harlan's powers."

"Come back? You guys left?" Five inquired. Myra averted her gaze now and stared at the floor of the boat, a pained expression flooding onto her face. The memory of what had happened between the siblings and their father was a constant plague in her mind every day. She hated reliving what had happened, hated that it had happened at all. She closed her eyes wishing to forget the emotional torment, allowing Diego to explain.

"The Owls came back. That’s one thing that didn't change," Diego said in a low tone, his voice quivering with pent up anger. Five clenched his jaws. So; it had happened again. He looked at Myra who was clearly in anguish and felt awful that she had to go through what his siblings did, what he did once he realized his brother had died on a mission-

"I'm sorry you had to lose him too," Five said to Myra a bit more abrupt than he'd meant to sound but still meaningful nonetheless.

"He didn't die this time around. Guess they're a little bit more competent than us," Diego dryly said. A look of surprise formed on Five's face yet Myra's was still contorted into an upset expression much to Five's curiosity.

"Dad isn't the saint I thought he was after all," she murmured. Five's expression softened as he realized they must've discovered the true meaning of the entire operation, the betrayal- Five came to the conclusion that they must've left when the found out that Sir Reginald Hargreaves had organized for one of the Sparrow's deaths- luckily for them, though, they all made it out alive unlike the Umbrella Academy had.

"How'd you guys do it?" Five quietly asked.

"Klaus warned me," Myra returned, but that proved to be the only information she was going to give on the incident and offered no more words on the subject. Now she remained quiet, silently pondering over what would've happened if she wasn't able to save her brother on that fateful night. If what had happened to the Umbrella Academy would happen to them. She'd had to watch over the past eight years as Klaus attempted to connect with Ben, with the brother he'd lost in a different life but the Ben that Myra knew was nothing like the Ben Klaus must've known, and she'd watched as Klaus slipped away into drug abuse, into the streets in a depression when Ben didn't prove to be what he was in Klaus's head.

"Where is all of this going?" Five asked, leaning forward now and resting his elbows on his knees.

"Right," Myra said, snapping out of her trance and some of the anger washing off of her face yet traces of something negative still remained. "So this man claiming to be Harlan's son… it was true, it turned out, and he wanted to continue what Harlan had started. He had grand ideas for the world, reform and changes."

"And what was wrong with that?" Five asked. Myra shook her head.

"He was… it was awful. Population control, exterminating those who he didn't think should reproduce… he thought he had good intentions but it was very clear he was a threat to the world. Of course, we didn't take him seriously because his powers were rather weak and nothing to change the world with. So, he left. Disappeared for a couple years. We thought we'd scared him off, but… about a year ago, he came back. This time, much more dangerous. Again, we didn't really see him as a huge threat until he proved his powers to us by doing something so horrible, so awful…" Myra choked up and couldn't continue on. Five could see the anguish and fear building in her eyes and so he looked to Diego to continue where she'd left off.

"What can he do?" Five asked with suspicion creeping into his voice.

"We don't really know," Diego continued, "but it's powerful as all hell. That's why we needed you and that's why I've been tracking down your numbnuts for the past ten months," Diego fumed. Five's glance flickered to the bottom of the boat in both confusion and a rising sense of panic. What could this man do that could overpower the force of the entire Umbrella Academy and Sparrow Academy? Five only assumed that his brother had gathered his siblings to face the threat before resorting to finding Five to finish the deal.

"So… where's this man now?" Five cautiously asked. Both Myra and Diego looked to him with incredulous looks on their faces as if it were obvious he should've known the answer to the question. Five responded by putting his hands innocently into the air with his palms facing the two.

"Man, you really have been cut off from the world, haven't you?" Diego harshly said before turning back around to navigate the boat through the choppy water. Five looked to Myra for answers.

"Five, he's… well, he's just about the most horrible villain this world has ever seen."

* * *

_"Ben? Sana? Wallace?" the girl cried out, spinning in panicked circles surrounding by an entirely unfamiliar forest, panic welling inside of her chest. "Taylor?" She broke into a run, crashing through the thick foliage of the strange fauna, feet sinking into the resilient soil on the ground, vines scraping by her face as she shoved her way through the jungle. Her thoughts ran rampant as she searched for someone- anyone- familiar to her. One second she'd been in the foyer with her siblings and now she was in a new terrain completely different from her house. For a few moments she thought that maybe, just maybe she was dreaming but it only took her crashing into something big and falling to the ground for her to realize that this was no dream._

_Supporting herself with her arms she craned her neck up past the low-sitting jungle ferns only to see two giant eyes situated underneath a crown of scales and horns staring down at her, a scream emerging from her mouth as a giant limb came crashing down at her._

"Myra?" A voice asked, drawing Myra out of her dream. She blinked a few times to try and get the sleep out of her eyes, the fear from the memories she relived nearly every time she fell asleep… glancing to the side, she looked out of the window of the plane and saw that they were traveling over green countryside, miles and miles of rolling fields to be seen, lights of distant cities twinkling like beacons on the ground far below them. She supposed she'd been twitching in her sleep again, maybe even having a night terror as she had been ever since she returned from his grasp, his own version of Hell. "I'm fine," she mumbled as her body slowly began to wake itself.

"We're almost there, anyways," Diego murmured. He'd come to have a softer spot for the girl than the rest of the Sparrow Academy but couldn't help but hold resent for her and the rest of her siblings deep down for what they received as children that he did not. Empathy. Five peered curiously at her around Diego. He'd heard her whimpering in her seat, watched as Diego tried to hold her still to no avail. He wanted to know what Harlan's son had done to them that was so awful but he figured he likely shouldn't ask- after all, he'd been gone for the entire thing and he was already expecting to meet some hostility when he finally returned. To be fair, he had surely earned the break- saving the world had been an incredible burden on his soul after working for nearly fifty years towards it. And to think that his body was still only twenty-one years old- well, that still never ceased to amaze him. When he'd returned as a thirteen year old he had felt as though he was never going to be able to save the world but now that he was older he was glad that he got to enjoy his youth properly this time instead of simply trying to survive in a world that was designed to kill him.

"Diego, what did he do?" Five whispered to his brother only to receive a glare from Myra from across the telekinetic's body.

"I can hear you, you know. And what he did… well, it doesn't matter. Let's just say I'm much more seasoned now," she replied. Five had no idea what that was supposed to mean and didn't want to further annoy the girl. Furthermore he was growing frustrated that they kept skirting around the fact that they were twenty years younger than they should've been. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He supposed that this was likely the last bit of actual rest he was about to get for a long time.

* * *

Five was a bit nostalgic as he looked on the building that had been his home for the fundamental years of his life, the place where he'd made his most formative memories, discovered his powers, tested his abilities… and eventually fled. He hadn't meant to leap so far into the future without being able to return but he did mean it when he finally left the second time to settle into a more peaceful left. He wasn't sure how he felt about returning. A piece of him wanted to stay in Brazil, would always be in his little village, but something old ignited within him as they stepped through the front door. An awakening, a craving he hadn't felt in so long… he knew if he succumbed to it it would be no better than Klaus succumbing to his addictions. In fact, it was his own crackhead brother who'd drawn attention to the fact that Five had an addiction to the apocalypse but in reality, Five had an addiction to anything that gave him purpose. Though, he didn't suppose that that was such a bad thing.

The first thing that hit him when he walked into the house was nine voices at once and the same as Diego and Myra, far younger than any of them had any right to be.

"About time you're here!" Luther cheerfully greeted. Before Five could even give a greeting he was wrapped into Luther's enormous arms, the breath nearly squeezed out of him. Five grimaced in his brother's arms, having to teleport out of them to escape his ape-like grasp. "Thanks, Luther," Five mumbled, only to find a figure in front of him- a woman who used to tower above him but now he was looking straight into her warm brown eyes… she looked amazing, fantastic, Five noted, now that she was the same age as him, at least physically.

"Allison," Five said, a wide grin growing on his face.

"You've grown," she greeted, pulling him into a hug that was much more gentle than his brother's.

"And you haven't," Five suspiciously remarked. Allison pretended not to hear that.

"About time you've shown up, Fivesy!" Klaus's voice exclaimed ecstatically exclaimed from the top of the staircase as he hustled down, his hand trailing on the wooden railing. Five offered a small wave and a cacophony of voices began to greet him, some melancholy, some indifferent as the rest of the Umbrella Academy and Sparrow Academy welcomed him back. Myra and Diego stood back with their arms crossed watching the scene unfold. Myra was annoyed that they couldn't get to the point but she supposed it had been eight years, after all, and the teleporter seemed to be held in high regards to the rest of his siblings and even the Sparrow Academy after hearing so much about him over the past year.

Five, on the other hand, was unconsciously greeting all of the siblings and sharing hugs. On the inside of his mind he was processing everything he'd seen since returning to the "normal" world. The airports had been absolutely plastered with propaganda for Harlan's son who Five eventually recognized to be simply called, "The Master." Why he was dubbed that, Five didn't know, but he did notice every nervous smile in the airport, shaky legs, people not daring to look at the posters, withdrawn from each other with suspicious eyes. Diego had warned Five that The Master had secret agents all over the place to spy on those who opposed him and that any word against the man would cause you to find yourself… well, where they took you when you opposed The Master nobody really knew. The current president of the US was under The Master's grasp, unofficially controlled by his power. Five hadn't known what he was getting into when he stepped onto the boat but it surely hadn't been a society not too far from "Big Brother". He was afraid they were about to face something far bigger than they had before and was curious to delve into the secrets that this man held before he had to face him.

"Little Rexy here was quite excited when Diego found out where you were," Klaus purred, draping his shoulder around his brother. Five glanced at Klaus with one eyebrow raised.

"Rexy?" He questioned.

"Well, Myra, of course, after her little expose in the past," Klaus replied with a grin on his face. Five glanced at Myra once more who looked away with an embarrassed look on her face. What was Klaus talking about?

"So what's the game plan here? And can someone explain why you guys are my age now? I was getting used to being the "youngest"" Five asked, ignoring Klaus's commenting and deciding to investigate that matter further in private. He glanced around at all of the siblings who had gathered in a circle around him, staring at him with interest. He was surely different than the boy they knew eight years ago now that he was taller than most of him and a lot bulkier than his skinny thirteen year old self had been. Thought, spending eight years in the jungle and on fishing boats would do that to you, not to mention the manual labor he'd done in return from food and other favors from the villagers.

"Well… we were hoping you'd have one," Luther sheepishly replied, scratching the back of his head as he purposely ignored the second part of Five's question. Five was astounded that his brother didn't have something in mind no matter how horrible his ideas had been.

"If you didn't notice, monkeybrain, I've been away for eight years. I have no idea who this guy is, let alone a plan," Five seethed with annoyance through clenched teeth. God; sometimes he felt as though he was the only one with a brain among his siblings. Diego had refused to divulge much information about The Master in public, spurring interest in Five to see what lengths The Master had gone to to prevent any negative word from spreading about him.

"He's right," Vanya softly interrupted, sporting a soft smile as a greeting to her brother. She hated hellos and goodbyes just as much as him and had not bothered to give him a formal greeting. "We need to fill him in on everything." All of the siblings looked at each other and nodded, all pointing fingers at whose job it would be to fill Five in on the past eight years. That's how Five found himself sprawled on the floor with the rest of the Umbrella Academy and Sparrow Academy as Ben found himself at the front of the group. He was rather annoyed one of Umbrellas had not chosen to spoke but for some reason, he found that he was the bridge between the two groups even though he wasn't the same Ben that the Umbrella Academy had known. It had taken a long time for him to come to terms with the fact that he had died and that there had been an entirely different version of him at some point in time, but the less he thought about it, the less anxiety grew in him. Five noted the prominent scar on his face and supposed it was from the night with the Owls, the one that he'd survived this time.

"So, if you haven't been able to tell, Harlan's son is named 'The Master'. He's been terrorizing the country and practically the world for the past year. What can he do; well, we don't really have a way to explain it. You have to see us for yourself. We were hoping maybe you'd know more about it than us, but it's gonna be hard for us to get to him. He's elusive as all hell, but… well, he's dangerous. We don't know what he would do to us if we tried to go after him and this gang wasn't complete until we were able to find you. He needs to be taken down, Five. Dad has gone missing just like Harlan and Pogo and Grace claim to have no idea where he's gone. We just… we hope he didn't end up like Harlan, that's all. And, we also hope that The Master hasn't gotten ahold of him yet."

"Not that we want to ever find him," Sana quietly grumbled. Ben shot her a glance but it wasn't entirely harsh; in fact, it had made him feel loved seeing how much his siblings had defended him after the 'incident'. He continued on without addressing the comment.

"What exactly can he do? I just don't understand how all of you couldn't take one man down," Five asked with accusation. Of course it was up to him to stop the supervillain, of course it was. He shook his head softly.

"Here we go again. I told you guys we should've just left him," Diego said, rolling his eyes. "Oh so might and all-powerful-"

"Diego," Allison harshly cut him off, glaring at her brother.

"I'm just saying, you'd think that he's older now-"

"I'm older than you by a long shot, idiot," Five shot right back.

"Can you just shut up already?" Ben scolded, causing everyone to be quiet and look back to him again. "Five- the point is, this guy is after us. But we don't know where he is or what he's planning next. We need you. We don't really have any kind of plan or goal, other than take him down. We think he'll probably know where dad is. If he gets us first… we're toast."


	8. Nothing Has Changed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five and Myra bond over Ben's near-death

After the meeting had promptly ended when Grace interrupted saying she'd prepared dinner, the band all disbursed to head to the kitchen to gladly collect their food. Five, on the other hand, had remained in the foyer. He was so utterly confused as to why they'd come to get him. A dangerous, powerful man that was ruling the country and also after them? He didn't see why he was necessary to understand this man's powers. He supposed if it was Harlan's son then his powers would be reminiscent of Vanya's but apparently not. At first he'd questioned why the boy who was a void didn't simply negate the Master's powers, but he hadn't seen him on his arrival here and he didn't have the heart to ask what had happened. He played with his fingernails before his face as his brain attempted to formulate a place to begin but he didn't know where. He supposed he'd have to delve into the man's history as well as Harlan's and his fathers, and everything they'd done together, but he didn't even know where to begin with that. Perhaps his father's study would give way to some hints.

A bigger part of him was more irritated than curious to the new mystery, however. He knew that he was craving something bigger than himself again like he'd worked towards for the a large majority of his life but Five found himself almost scared to slip into that state again, to stop living his own life and focusing on saving the world. Perhaps the old Five would've just brushed away the thoughts and marched off to his father's study but not this Five. The new Five. Instead, he did, in fact, shake his head and head for the doors at the front of the house. He shoved them open and took in a breath of the crisp night air; taking in the air deeply he exhaled loudly. If there's one thing he had missed about his home it was the fact that it actually dipped below eighty degrees unlike the beach he had lived on. In fact, he found himself quite chilled as he began to walk along the sidewalk that was lightly dusted with snow though he took pleasure in the chill, welcoming its presence once more. He shoved his hand into the pockets of the only jeans he owned, one of the few things he'd brought with him from Brazil. After all, he did plan on returning to his simple life once everything was figured out. He had a feeling that it wouldn't be quite as simple as that, though.

As he was walking down the empty sidewalk with only a few occasional cars passing by he heard footsteps behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Myra jogging after him. "Hey," she breathed, catching up to him and slowing down to match his pace. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Five briskly replied. He wanted some time to himself but then again, he'd had eight years of that. Still, he had to admit that his transition into normal life was rather jarring. Though he was annoyed at being followed he supposed Myra or Klaus were the only two people he'd be able to take seriously right now. His siblings were too emotionally stunted and the same as eight years ago, and he didn't really care to get to know any of the Sparrow Academy. Myra was the only one he'd ever interacted with and he hoped to keep it that way.

"You know your siblings miss you. There's plenty of food, Mom was disappointed-"

"Grace will be okay, as will my siblings. Didn't bother to look for me until I was the last resort," Five huffed. It was obvious to Myra that he held some pent up resentment.

"I thought you didn't want to be found?" Myra inquired, backing him into a corner.

"Still doesn't make it sting any less." They continued to walk in silence through the streets, snowflakes landing on their skin and immediately melting, settling into their bones to give them a refreshing chill. Though the hour was late it was still early enough into the night for them to occasionally pass someone else on the sidewalk but Five immediately noticed that every passerby kept their head ducked, face concealed and slipped by the pair. The first he thought was perhaps just a shy soul, but after the fourth person that appeared to try to sneak past them he had to say something. "Is he really that bad?"

Beside him, Myra nodded. "He's horrible. Trust me, if he wasn't we could've dealt with him. I alone should've been able to deal with him, but even I couldn't," Myra softly said. That struck something in Five. After watching her do what she could eight years ago he supposed she'd be able to hold her own on anything with what was essentially mind control, not to mention the eight years she's had to grow. He didn't have to ask her to assume that Five was their Hail Mary because of his experience with this sort of this and his intellect. "I know that you want answers, and they'll come with time- but to answer your insistence on knowing why we're all your age now- well, we don’t exactly know why. Seus came and… and when he left, we all woke up like this."

Five didn't really understand what he was hearing but nodded nonetheless.

"What was everything else doing?" Five questioned, his tone growing less harsh the more he talked to her. He found her presence was calming for some odd reason.

"Your family all went their different ways, mine stuck around long enough for those mongrels to force us away from our Father, driving us to follow our passions," Myra explained with a heavy sigh. "After Ben… well, my siblings and I never strayed too far from each other but it was the never same as it had been before then. But Taylor… he left and never came back. We haven't heard from him since."

"I'm sorry. But, how did you guys do it? Keep Ben alive this time around?"

Myra gave a shaky sigh as scenes from that fateful night replayed in her head, the events that transpired the days following, the tearful goodbyes as the siblings parted ways to follow their passions. Anxiety began to well in her chest yet she regaled the story to Five anyways, sparing no details.

* * *

_"I have the utmost confidence that the Sparrow Academy will eventually rid the country of these dreadful terrorists; each and every one of you are unique and capable in your own ways and in due time, you will do what you have been ordered to," Sir Reginald spoke to the teenagers who were all standing in a line in the middle of the foyer with stoic looks on their faces, their masks donned on their faces to conceal their eyes. They all eagerly listened to their father speak as they physically and mentally prepared themselves for the mission they'd just been summoned to. For months, now, the Sparrow Academy had been protecting the country from an organized group who called themselves "Birds of Prey" due to their unconventional methods of communication and the apparent ability of some of their members to silently glide through the air much like their namesake, and a complete mockery of "the Sparrow Academy." "But I will warn you that even in the most hopeful of times, the times you feel at your strongest, you are at your weakest. In the coming hours I implore you to look after your siblings, your classmates, your friends." After he had finished speaking, he turned around and marched out of his towards the alleyway where their car was waiting for them. Waiting to take them to defeat the terrorists they'd been fighting for so long. Intel informed them that tonight they'd be in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city to torture individuals and perform other nefarious actions that the Sparrows were in the dark to._

_The scene fast-forwarded in Myra's head to them fighting. It had been hours since the fighting began; the sun was long gone and the moon was bright in the sky, shining through the glass windows of the warehouse. The fight was long and strenuous; somehow, the Birds had been donned with special armor and armed with strange tools that were rather resistant to their powers. The helmets that adorned their head rendered Myra's powers useless as well as the fact that the materials their clothes were woven out of repelled her electricity all together. She'd had to find unconventional ways to use her powers and resort to hand to hand combat in most cases, never straying to far from Ben lest she found she needed protection from one of his arms. They'd been intelligent enough to remove any sort of plant life from the warehouse and so Sana had already drained most of her energy growing vines she could use in the cracks of the cement, while Taylor protected Ben from the other side only able to fight with his hands as his powers were entirely useless. The Birds didn't use special abilities to fly though it was a mystery as to how they did it without it being affected by Taylor._

_Besides Myra, Ben was screaming and groaning as his horror kept a majority of the Birds at bay, lurking just past the perimeter that the tentacles could not reach, occasionally darting in to attack when Ben was seemingly distracted._

_Eventually though, through the throng of fighting, the sound of gunshots, the screams, the sound of screeching metal hit everyone's ears and behind the screeching of the metal was the screeching of human beings. The Sparrows all looked about for the source of the sound, their arms frozen in the middle of what they were doing when they found the source. A metal door was lowering itself into the crack in the ground, revealing an empty… or not so empty… room where they thought a solid wall had been. As the door disappeared into the floor, something entirely peculiar appeared: five figures, innocent civilians, each with two Birds pointing guns at either side of their heads with nasty smirks on their faces. The Sparrows ceased fighting knowing that this was a warning that if they made another move then the innocents would be killed._

_The siblings all looked to one another, all of their eyes eventually falling onto Ben who had already recalled the tentacles back into his chest. He was their number one, after all, and they relied on him to call most of their shots. Ben's eyes traveled over his siblings, watching their chests heave and their arms shake out of exhaustion. They were only teenagers. Ben's own chest heaved, sore from using his powers for so long, his legs threatening to give out at any second now that the adrenalin from the fighting was already ebbing away. They looked to him with scared eyes and in that moment, Ben knew what he had to do._

_With a nod, his siblings all lowered their arms, shoulders sagging in defeat. Myra widened her eyes at her brother as members of the Birds immediately rushed in, tying the Sparrow's hands behind their back with rope they had procured. "What are you doing?" Myra hissed as one of the masked figures roughly grabbed her wrists._

_"Be quiet!" The figure shouted at her. Still, she continued to look at her brother, wishing she could use her hands to read his thoughts._

_"We don't have another choice," Ben whispered back as his hands were being tied as well. From the new room, the civilians whimpered and cried as the Birds forced them out of the hidden room, presumably to find a door to the outside in order to escape- or so, the Sparrows hoped. They all silently prayed that Ben had made the right decision as they were forced over to one of walls of the warehouse and shoved to their knees, all of the siblings throwing dirty looks at their captors, Shawn spitting on the shoes of one of them and earning a hard slap to the face. Ben glanced over to Myra and saw the she was kneeling on the ground with her eyes closed, completely motionless. He nudged her with his elbow but she didn't budge and he hoped that she hadn't passed out. He needed her in order to get through this. While guns were pressed into their heads from behind a figure emerged from the shadows with their arms clasped behind their back, their face concealed by a comically large yet rather frightening mask of what appeared to be an owl. The figure slowly paced in front of the group, staring at each and every one of the teens before reaching the end and returning to stand in the middle in front of the siblings. It seemed like it took ages for him to speak and Myra was still on her knees with her eyes closed._

_"So it comes to this at last," the figure growled in a low tone. Something sounded… off about the voice but none of the teens could pinpoint what it was. "The famous, oh-so-strong and heroic Sparrow Academy is at my complete and utter mercy. How foolish of you to continue coming after us even when we warned that the worst will come to you. So egotistical, so belligerent to believe that a group of children could truly do anything to stop us."_

_"We've stopped most of your important attacks, bootlicker," Ben growled to the figure. The figure let out a dry laugh._

_"Stopped us? Oh, my dear, naïve Ben- yes, I'm more familiar with you guys than you realize- those were only distractions. If you looked deep enough past your own shallow view of the world that you would've seen we were simply getting our larger plan set in motion, those surface attacks just a façade to hide our more… important intentions." The masked figure continued on whilst the eyes of five scowling teenagers glared at him. Meanwhile, they were nearly oblivious to what their sister was attempting to do._

_Beside her siblings Myra had closed her eyes the moment they'd been forced to their knees, letting everything blend away. The cold metal on the back of her head wasn't noticeable, the sounds of the warehouse and the voice of the man fading away until it no longer pierced her ears. The dim light that had been making its way through her eyes faded to blackness until she was completely alone in her own thoughts. Her hands twitched behind her and she struggled to keep herself under control lest the Bird behind her notice and send a bullet through her head. As she focused she only focused on sending small increments of energy out from her fingers- and the hardest part, the part that required focus- guiding it through the air with her unconscious mind. Typically she had to physically direct her powers and she'd never tried this before but it was the only thing she could think of doing to get her and all of her siblings out of this alive and healthy._

_As the man talked he didn't notice the twitches in Myra's face as she concentrated on slowly but surely guiding her energy towards her brother Ben beside her, him being the best possible test subject to see if this would work. She hoped he knew her well enough to suspect what she was doing and not give any sort of reaction if this were to work. As the man continued his tirade, his words slipping by Myra entirely, she felt the familiar feeling of being one with someone's synapses._

_She had made it to Ben's brain._

_She coursed through his nerves, spread through his whole body and he shuddered ever so slightly beside her but didn't stop looking at the masked man with disgust, not wanting to give away his sister. Now that Myra had gotten herself into Ben's head she allowed her eyes to open. When she laid her eyes on the man, she held in a gasp-_

_All of those years ago when Klaus had whispered those ominous words to Myra she'd thought nothing of it, but now it was all falling into place, Ben's plan of action leaking into her head everything moved in slow motion and everything was beginning to make sense- as the next few seconds unfolded Myra's energy unconsciously invaded the rest of her siblings and showed them everything, told them what they had to do-_

_"…and the time, my friends- well, I think it's just about midnight."_

_Every he spoke those words, it was as if everything began to move in slow motion. Myra screamed and ripped her hands from the rope, burning it with electricity as she reached her hand towards Ben's head and shut it, causing her brother to crumple to the floor. The Birds went to pull the triggers of their guns but Shawn had found the energy to summon six copies of himself and each copy attacked their respective Bird, giving the siblings enough time to break free of their restraints and join the chaos. With the clones keeping their Birds at bay Myra jumped to her feet and rushed for the man in the owl mask who procured a gun and pulled his finger with no hesitation-_

_To which Wallace jumped in front of his sister, absorbing the shock from the bullet and gathering the strength to send it back. Crimson blossomed in the man's shirt as he looked down in shock from the bullet wound and crumpled to the ground. Sana had somehow managed to get an entire tree to grow from the floor and Myra saw it spring to life out of the corner of her eye, whopping on the Birds as Sana directed the plant with her hands. Taylor and Shawn were holding off Birds on the other side, the clones already taking hold of guns and beginning to fire shots at the enemies. Myra shocked the squirming masked man on the ground into unconsciousness. She couldn't bring herself to question him. She turned her attention to help her siblings again but most of the Birds were already fleeing the warehouse away from the Sparrows who had just killed their leader and regained a deadly spurt of energy. While her siblings chased the remnants of the group out Myra dropped to one knee beside Ben and gingerly placed her hand on the side of his face, closing her eyes and focusing on waking the boy up- as he blinked back into consciousness Myra understood what Klaus had meant, but she now knew secrets that would tear her family apart._

* * *

"…and after we got back, I had to tell them. I had to tell them what dad did, no matter how much it hurt," Myra softly explained. Five nodded listening to how differently their events had gone from his siblings- not that he had been there, and even if he had he wasn't sure that Ben would've lived. It was still chilling, though, knowing how manipulative Reginald had been to the Sparrows. So warm and kind and for what? Just for them to learn it was all a lie? Just for him to attempt to murder one of his children in order to test the others? Five hated what Reginald had did. When he'd read Vanya's book in his post-apocalyptic exile he had been so frustrated and upset at what his father had done. He'd had nothing to take his anger out on or nobody to vent to… that's when he'd found Delores. A bittersweet smile grew on his face as he thought of the woman he'd conjured in his mind and to him, existed in reality. Still, she was never able to fully soothe the pain and anger of him learning that father had attempted to murder Ben. That he had forced Grace to place a timed explosive inside of him while Ben was asleep. That he created and funded the Birds of Prey to test the Sparrows and the Umbrella Academy. That once they stepped into that warehouse Ben's life was in his siblings hands. That once the Owl decided it was midnight he'd activate the explosive that would go off whenever he wanted it to. If it had not been for Myra testing her abilities Ben would be dead in two different timelines. If she had not seen the circuits in the explosive… there'd be more than six emotionally stunted adults with magical abilities.

"We didn't think that he was going to do that to us, test us like that. I mean, we knew that Ben died but your siblings were seventeen. We were in our thirties and he still didn't trust us, apparently. We just.. We weren't expecting it."

Five glanced over at Myra who was deep in contemplation and he thought for once, maybe once, that there was finally someone in this world who might understand him.


	9. As the Days End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five makes a shocking discovery and... they get drunk.

When Ben and Myra returned they walked into Klaus and Wallace playing a card game with a bottle of whiskey placed between them and Allison, Vanya, and Sana passing around a bottle of wine in sweatpants and loose t-shirts. The rest of them were nowhere to be seen, either in bed or lurking around elsewhere in the house instead of in the foyer. Five was pleasantly surprised to see the two Academies getting along so pleasantly and he wondered how that happened. He didn't think his siblings would take too kindly to their replacements but evidently that wasn't true. It had been eight years, though, and after the Sparrows experienced the same betrayal as the Umbrellas had he supposed that soldered some sort of connection. Myra and Five shared a glance before approaching the mingling siblings who simultaneously turned their heads to the pair. "Fivesy!" Klaus greeted.

"Hey Myra, want to join?" Sana asked her sister with a bright smile. As much as she wanted to join her sister- _sisters_ \- she would've liked to spend more time around Five. It hadn't taken long after reuniting after their father's disappearance for the Umbrella Academy and the Sparrow Academy to truly start to mesh with each other as the Sparrow Academy was spiteful over their father's betrayal and the Umbrella Academy coaching the younger heroes through the anger, deep down happy that they weren't the only ones this had happened to. Still, there was some slight dismay that unlike their older counterparts, the younger ones actually managed to save Ben's life. "Sure-" Myra began, heading towards the girls but she heard Klaus interrupt them.

"No, no, Rexy, come over here! We need a fourth for the game anyways," Klaus whined. Myra rolled her eyes and scoffed but went over and situated herself next to Wallace, Five taking the other seat. She sat down and tuned into Klaus's and Wallace conversation before the girls had time to complain. "I was starting to think that you and Fivesy were never coming back."

"I can never hide from your nonsense, Klaus," Five scoffed as he gathered the cards his brother had dealt him. Klaus laughed airily at Five's comment. He'd missed the little twerp's bitterness over the past eight years. Klaus's smile died a little bit when he remembered what Five was going to have to face, though.

"Oh, why would you want to?" Klaus playfully asked, laying a card down before grasping the whiskey bottle and taking a swig. Five eyed the bottle and snatched it from Klaus just as soon as he'd removed his lips from it, closing his eyes as he let the amber liquid slip down his throat, catching the lining of his throat on fire before settling like a warm ember in his stomach. Five simply shrugged to Klaus's question before laying a card in the center of them.

"Well, little Rexy here certainly loves my antics, I'd like to think-"

"Alright, buddy, you gotta tell me: what's up with the Rexy?" Five asked with one eyebrow raised before taking another sip from the bottle. Klaus reached for it but Five pulled his hand back and Klaus pulled his hand back with puppy dog eyes, pouting his lower lip out.

"Well, Fivesy, I'm sure she'll tell you that herself," Klaus whined, still eyeing the bottle. One last time Five took a third swig before handing it back to Klaus and then his focus turned to Myra who was still eyeing her cards and pondering over what move to make. Myra, seeing Five's gaze out of the corner of her eye simply shook her head with a small smile on her face.

"Klaus is just being Klaus, you know that," Myra murmured lightly with a smile on her face. Five decided she was putting up a wonderful façade but he could see through the mask. He'd seen her nightmare on the plane, he'd seen the pain etched in her face, something in her eyes that should not have been there. She was withholding some sort of trauma from him and seeing as how Ben survived and her and her siblings remained in close contact albeit disowning Sir Reginald, he knew that it had to be something else, something more than likely related to the Master. He studied her face as she looked at her cards with furrowed brows, chewing on the inside of her cheek before carefully choosing one to put in the center, shoulders relaxing as she'd relieved the burden of picking a card. He looked deep into her eyes, searching for any inkling as to what was wrong with her before her eyes met his and she raised an eyebrow, eliminating any trace of any trauma that he'd detected.

"You gotta problem?" She playfully asked. Five shook his head.

"No, you're just showing your hand," Five remarked, pointing to her cards which were obviously visible to him. She pulled them close to her chest and shot him an annoyed look though she couldn't help but break into a smile.

* * *

As the night went on Five's eyelids grew heavier and heavier and his chest warmer and warmer as he continued to sip on the whiskey that was quickly running out between him, Klause, and Wallace. The girls albeit Myra had decided to turn into bed early, declaring that Five had until the morning before they all began whatever plan they wanted to enact against the Master. At one point, they'd completely ditched the cards and forced Myra to pick them all up whilst rolling her eyes at the drunken idiots. Still, though, she couldn't help but think that Five was charming in his own surly way. Klaus really never seemed too different even though he'd drank the most out of all of them. Wallace, on the other hand, a rather infrequent drinker, was already passed out on the floor in front of the fireplace, snoring lightly. Five couldn't help but notice the way that Myra was looking at him- or maybe it as really just the alcohol- but still, she had an electric presence to her and not just from her powers. He found himself drawn to every word he said though some of the things that came out of his mouth caused Myra to roll her eyes and focus her attention more towards Klause. However, Five felt awful knowing that she was nearly forty years younger than him- regardless of his physical age it wasn't alright and it never would be. He finished off the bottle as he mourned over the fact that other than Delores, he'd likely never be able to love anyone like that ever again. It simply was not in the cards for him.

At some point the trio decided it was best they find their way to bed. Klaus volunteered to help Wallace up to Wallace's room before retreating to one of the guest bedrooms that he'd converted into his own during the time he'd been here. The Umbrella Academy had reluctantly sacrificed their rooms and allowed the Sparrows to keep them while claiming some of the empty guest rooms for themselves. Myra lead Five to one of the empty guestrooms who luckily could still walk but not very well. "-my bedroom?" Five slurred, balancing himself with one hand on Myra's shoulder.

"You and your siblings have to stay in the guest rooms. Those are our rooms, remember?" Myra softly told him, guiding him past countless wooden doors.

"Oh yea," he replied, struggling to keep walking in a straight line. Myra sighed; she supposed it was her own fault for letting them finish off that bottle.

"If you pass out I'm leaving you here," Myra warned. Five mumbled an incoherent response before steadying his pace slightly though his hand still remained clenched to Myra's shoulder. Eventually, they reached the door that Myra had been looking for. She twisted the door handle and the door swung open revealing an entirely plain bedroom with a small, uncomfortable looking twin-sized bed and a few small dressers sprinkled throughout the room. "Here you are."

Five stumbled past her and looked around the room, sighing. "Didn't expect better."

"Goodnight, Five. I'll wake you up in the morning, try to get some sleep, okay?" She said and then closed the door before he could reply or say anything else. When she closed the doors she shut her eyes and bit her bottom lip. She wanted to tell Five what she'd been through and she supposed to she'd have to within the next few days so that Five knew what she was contending with. But something deep down in her was afraid to tell him because… well, she didn't know why. But she was. She made her way back to her bedroom, ears wide open the entire time to listen through the quiet halls of the house in case Five managed to slip out of his room, but when she reached her room with nothing out of the ordinary to be heard she sighed in relief.

After changing into pajamas she sunk into her bed, sighing and closing her eyes. Her lamp was still on beside her bed and as tired as she was she suddenly found herself unable to sleep. She hated going to sleep, it was her least favorite part of the day. The nightmares of the past never ceased to haunt her- and unlike on the plane, Diego wasn't there to chase them away. Some nights she found herself crawling into bed next to Sana, finding comfort in her sister who never hesitated to ease Myra to sleep with scents of lavender and herbs. As much as the two could fight Myra never failed to be grateful for her. But, it was far too late into the night to do that to her sister and besides, she'd likely be woken up in a few hours anyways by one of the countless people in the house right now. She reached over to her nightstand, grabbing her book and falling into a fictional reality. For how long, she didn't know, but she found herself trapped in the words, afraid to fall asleep. In the book, it was storming, the thunder crashing and the lightning-

Myra jumped about a foot into the air as the lightning seemingly manifested itself into real life, a flash emerging at the foot of her bed. Myra's book clattered to the floor as she jumped about a foot into the air out of fright only to see Five's smirking face at the end of her bed sitting cross-legged at her feet. "Hello, Myra," he greeted. While traces of whiskey still remained in his voice he did not sound nearly as intoxicated before.

"What are you doing?" She asked incredulously.

"Before I tackle this thing, I need to know what he did to you. Seus. I _need_ to know what he's capable of before I even _begin_ to delve into this research," Five explained in a grave tone. Myra crossed her arms and she noted that one of Five's siblings must've told him The Master's name at some point. Seus is what he'd introduced himself as. Incredibly strange name but not even half as strange as the man himself.

"Okay- fine, whatever, but at _four_ in the morning? Can this wait until we _both_ get some sleep?" She asked in an annoyed tone.

"'fraid not," Five coolly responded. "I don't plan on going to sleep tonight but like I said, before I start I need the story." He leaned forward now resting his chin in his hands. "And I know the story begins with you."

Myra stared at him for a few moments with her mouth slightly agape for a few moments, trying to articulate the words to get him out of her room so late- or early?- but she couldn't. The only way to get him out was to tell him what happened. With a sigh, she began to talk and another smirk grew on Five's face as he realized he won this argument.

"Like I said, the first time around we didn't believe Harvey so he disappeared for a while to do who knows what. When he came back… we needed him to prove what he could do. I mean- before any of us could react I was gone. Just… gone." Five listened with intense curiosity, his gaze burning into her soul. "I landed in the middle of a jungle- 80 million years ago. Right where we're sitting right now." She reached her hand out and placed it on Five's foot, his shoe having disappeared a while ago, and images played through Five's mind.

_He was staring up at a giant, horned and scaled lizard bringing its foot down towards him and he rolled to the side with a grunt, light releasing from his body and striking the lizard who only moaned in slight irritation and lumbered away from her through the forest._

_Now he was walking across a poorly-constructed wooden bridge between the tops of two trees, a basket woven from ferns full of strange fruits and nuts balanced carefully in his arms, scavengers with wings perched in the tree branches, threatening to come and pick off whatever was on top-_

_Tears. He could feel rivers of salty tears the entire time, anguish, despair. The loneliness. Through flashes of bloody teeth, acrid breath smelling of death, midnight runs while being tracked down by some of Earth's most formidable predators- when would it end? Why wouldn't he make it end?_

Five's eyes shot open as Myra's hand retreated from his foot, a sorry look on her face. He was panicked for a few moments until he realized he wasn't on the Earth 80 million years ago, he was sitting in his- no, Myra's- bedroom. He fell backwards onto the bed but caught himself with his arms. He stared at Myra with a look of shock on his face, completely sobering up from whatever alcohol had been left in his system. Myra watched his face contort in both confusion, fear, and then pity for what she'd had to endure. "He did _that_ to you?" Five exclaimed in utter disbelief. Myra nodded and then lowered her eyes to her hands which were folded on her lap as she twiddled her thumbs.

"Forty years, Five."  
  
He was at a loss for words. The emotions, the things she'd shown him- at least in his personal hell he'd had Delores, he'd had food, alcohol, books, semblances from daily life- she'd had absolutely nothing aside from her own mind. Not even a mannequin to cling onto with whatever sanity she'd had left. "Why didn't you…" he didn't even know how to articulate what to say. How to ask why she didn't kill herself then and there. Why she'd stick to that life for forty years.

"Why didn't I end it? That's something I'll never really be able to answer myself. I think…" she took a deep breath. "I knew someone who'd been through something really similar. Someone who, at the end of it all, came out on top and all worked for the better," she replied. Five didn't need her to tell him that she was talking about him. _So all of that time she clung to what happened to me even though by all rights she should not have._

"I just… Myra, how did he do it?" Five leaned forward now and drew his face a little closer to Myra's.

"That's the scary part," Myra said in a shaky voice. "We don't know. Nothing like you- all he did was touch me and I was gone. He didn't come with me. And it wasn't all in my head because my siblings were there when he did it- I was gone for five seconds and he brought me back but for me, it had been forty years. To just be ripped out of a pointless existence and dropped back right off from where you came from… well, I don't know. Sometimes I don't know what's real or what's not anymore…" she bit the inside of her cheek. "…and the rest of them, they changed too. Like I said before, we don't know how or why he did it, but he did, as if changing just me wasn't enough…" Five just looked at her at a complete loss for words. He could feel her attempt to conceal her shaking underneath the blanket, the blood draining from her face leaving her completely pale- he knew the pain she was feeling, the trauma.

And Five did something completely unprecedented for him. He grabbed Myra's hand, squeezing it gently in his grasp. She lifted her eyes and when they met his, she felt a little more at peace. His gaze grounded her a little bit. He was just like her. He knew what she was going through. As they sat there together in silence, sharing each other's pain, for some reason Five could not help but be relieved in the back of his head that Myra was way closer to him in age than he'd ever thought, and what that meant he did not know. But he was going to get to the bottom of Harvey's mystery and find out what Harlan and Reginald had to do with it all.


	10. Truth be Told

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five, Klaus, and Myra go exploring and Klaus, surprise surprise, finds a ghost

Shortly after sharing her story Five had had to dismiss himself. He needed to go to his father's study and as guilty as he felt for leaving Myra this was important- he needed to know what Harvey was capable of to protect the world. To protect his family. Myra, on the other hand, had no other choice but to sheepishly shuffle into her sister's room. She crawled under the covers next to Sana who instinctively put her arm around her sister and pulled her into a tight hug whilst still half asleep. And so Myra fell asleep in her sister's embrace, attempting to sleep away any of the traumas of the past and any of the strange feelings surrounding Five.

* * *

Five lurked through the hallways until he found the entrance to Reginald's study- he took a deep breath. It had been a long while, but when he pushed the door open he wasn't all too surprised to see that barely a thing had changed about the office. It looked nearly identical to the way it had since he was a child- that was really saying something about Sir Reginald's unwillingness to change. He crossed his arms behind his back, strolling into the study- "I thought I heard you," he heard a soft voice murmur. He turned to find Vanya at the entrance, watching her brother quizzically. The pale gray light of dawn was beginning to seep through the window reminding Five that Number Seven had always been an early riser.

"I'd like to save the world a third time in one shot- I'm getting sick of making two trips to carry the groceries in," Five sarcastically said, reaching down to inspect a plain notebook on his father's desk. To his surprise, it was mostly empty aside from a few math equations that seemed entirely unimportant when he glanced at them. He began to scan everything on his father's desk to look for even a hint of a clue as to where to start on this. He didn't have an inkling of where to start so he supposed his first lead would to figure out the mechanics of Harvey's powers or anything else that Sir Reginald's office offered.

"Well, I'd like to think that maybe I'm not the cause of it this time," Vanya softly replied. Five chuckled.

"Only time will tell," he quietly replied. Vanya was a little upset that he didn't try to comfort her or ease her guilt but she supposed that wasn't really his job anyways.

"I hope you enjoyed your eight years because I'm not sure you'll get much more than that."

"I enjoyed it all right, but I'm afraid you're probably right," Five replied, beginning to open the drawers of his father's desk. Though his father had evidently been missing for quite some time now Pogo kept the office meticulously clean and Five found it odd to be rummaging through his things without Sir Reginald here to interrupt him. Vanya watched her brother search. She wished she could be of help but as strong as she was she'd no clue what Five was doing and couldn't even imagine coming close to understand what was going on inside her brother's head. As Five was searching another presence slipped in behind Vanya, placing a hand on her shoulder while Vanya gave Diego a small, meek smile. Diego knew that Five was going to be pissed-

"Five, I can't stick around, but I won't be too far if you get anything," Diego said with a hint of hesitancy in his voice.

"You still haven't found her?" Five questioned as he bent over to search the lowest drawers of the desk. Diego huffed, finding it rather annoying how well his brother knew him.

"No, but- but maybe you being back will draw her out. I need to look," Diego told Five. Five straightened up, a singular small notepad in his hand. Entirely plain and insignificant, likely didn't cost more than two dollars: but, Five knew that that's exactly what Sir Reginald would want. Holding the notepad in his hand he stood and looked at Diego with a look on his face full of pity.

"Maybe you need to consider the possibility that she's not going to come back," Five told Diego who proceeded to shake his head.

"She will, I know she will- we just need to give her time," Diego insisted. Five pinched his lips together and shook his head knowing full well that his brother was chasing a lost cause- Lila was never coming back. As much as it was going to break his brother it was the truth but there was no way to force Diego to see that. "So what's your plan?"

"Well," Five said as he began to walk towards the door of the study, holding the notebook in the air, "found this, I think dad meant for me to. Either way it's the first lead I've got." He exited the room without telling Diego any further information annoying the man. He was half tempted to follow his brother but decided he was annoyed with his cockiness and instead, walked in the other direction. Klaus, on the other hand, had already been waiting for Five outside of the study and began to follow him as soon as he'd left the room.

"You're not coming with me, Klaus," Five said in a stern, no nonsense tone. He didn't have time for his brother's shenanigans- it would only slow him down. Besides, he had no clue what he was going to find at this address and if there was something dangerous- well, regardless of what Klaus had proved in the past he still had no faith in his powers to get him or Five out of a sticky situation.

"Well I didn't ask where you were going, Fivesy," Klaus responded in an airy tone as he followed Five. "But if you are going out I'd like to stop by the store for a few things anyways so we might as well go together."

"If I've learned one thing from the past two apocalypses it's that the more we split up, the worse things get. You need to stay here with the rest of the family, keep on eye on them," Five said as he trotted down the stairs and walked towards the door, keeping a quick pace as to hopefully disinterest Klaus or anybody else who'd try and interrupt him before he was able to make it out of the door. He ignored his brother's complaints behind him and eventually resorted to teleporting outside of the door and making a break for it-

Only to find Myra leaning against the wall of the building adjacent to the house in the alleyway he'd teleported into. His shoulders sagged a little but her… for some reason she wasn't one he was going to complain if she wanted to tag along. "What are you doing here?" Five asked. Even though he wasn't annoyed with her presence like Klaus he would've preferred this mission to have as much stealth as possible and as far as he was concerned he was the stealthiest person he knew.

"I'm not just gonna let you sneak off. I need to help you. I need to help you take him down no matter what it takes," she said, raising her eyebrows and peeling off of the wall to walk up to him. "Besides, I don't trust you enough to protect Klaus if push comes to shove." Five's head turned to find Klaus sauntering up to the two of them with a wide, comical smirk on his face as though Myra was his secret pawn. The pair stood next to each other staring Five down until he groaned and continued to make his way to the van situated in the alleyway while the other two shared a look of triumph and followed. Myra, of course, had already claimed shotgun but Klaus happily climbed into the back and immediately began to sing some odd song they'd never heard before.

"So where are we off to?" Myra inquired as Five twisted the key and the van revved to life.

"Dad left an address in his office and it's the only start I got," he explained, looking both ways before turning the van onto the street.

"And why do you think a random address in a sketchpad will lead you to anything?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, I don't," Five admitted. "But it was sitting on top of a magazine featuring Harlan on the front so make of that what you will." As they continued to drive Five occasionally found his eyes drifting off to the passenger's seat, watching Myra stare out of the window in contemplation as the city passed by. The day was proving to be rather sunny and the temperature was slowly creeping up compared to the day previous though that did nothing to chase away the layer of snow coating everything. He could only wonder the things that went through her head, the pain. He supposed she was lucky she did not have the remorse of being the only human being to survive the apocalypse but he knew that what happened to her carried an entirely different set of emotional baggage. Either way, seeing her continually reminded him that these things really were bigger than his family. He was saving the world, not just the Umbrella Academy.

"So what exactly did you do in Brazil?" Klaus piped up from the back.

"Nothing, and that's the beauty of it. A simple life, Klaus. After all those years worrying about the apocalypse, about my family… well, it was much needed," Five admitted with a sigh and a miniscule, serene smile grew on his face as he thought about the beach, the hut he'd constructed for himself, the games he'd play with the children in the village. Some days he'd spent hours and hours on fishing boats, others he'd found himself building things in the village. Cut off from everything for eight entire years Five had grown to like staying a simple man. But the cravings were beginning to arise in him, the craving to leap into the framework of mystery before him and solve things for yet a third time. Klaus, with a confused look on his face, laid down in the back.

"Relaxed while the rest of us were saving Ben's ass and nearly getting killed," Myra sarcastically scoffed.

"I did my time," Five playfully replied back, but it was true. He'd done more than enough. Still… with as much as the Umbrella Academy looked up to him he supposed it'd never be enough. He took one last right onto the street that the address was situated on. It was small and narrow with a majority of the shops and windows either broken or boarded up. There wasn't a single soul walking on the sidewalk at the moment. Five supposed this street must've been a casualty of some economic hit or another as he carefully began to scan the addresses of the buildings before finding the one he needed and pulling over to the curb. As he placed the van into park, Klaus began to rouse and Myra unbuckled herself, hopping out of the van door and shutting it as Five turned the van off. Klaus slid the back door open and emerged, staring with a blank and confused look on his face at the building they were standing before. "You sure this is the place, Fivesy?"

Five came around the front of the van with furrowed brows, staring at his destination in annoyance. Why dad chose to send them to a half-burned down store that had to have been ancient he didn't know but he only hoped that they'd unearth whatever clues lay in the place. Five didn't respond to Klaus's question; he only stepped forward and disappeared with a flash of light presumably into the building. Myra knew she was going to get pretty annoyed with that sooner and later, and with Klaus they stepped forward and wrenched the door of the store open, carefully ducking underneath a hanging beam of wood to get into the building. The remnants of fire still lingered, several of the walls of the building gone and completely missing, the walls scorched from the heat of flames. None of the windows were still intact and whatever furnishings had been in the place were either burnt down or stolen long ago. As the pair poked around the store they began to talk mindlessly to one another, sharing sentiments and small jokes in the forlorn building. There was absolutely nothing here; Myra supposed it was either a dead end or a place that Seus knew had secrets and had it destroyed.

Soon enough she nearly ran into Five as she'd been kicking through the rubble with her head down. She lifted her head only to see his disgruntled figure before her- "It's a dead end," Five said with a twinge of annoyance in his voice.

"You don't say?" She responded.

"Where's Klaus?" Five asked, his eyes venturing past Myra. She turned around only to find the necromancer gone; she could've sworn he was just behind her.

"Oh lord," she huffed, turning around and heading towards one of the rooms she'd yet to go into. Five appeared in front of her with a flash of light. Really? She thought in her head as he made his way into the dark doorway. Once he had stepped into the room, though, he stopped and stared at what was happening before him. Similarly, Myra breached the doorway and as her eyes adjusted to the darker lighting in the room she stopped when she saw Klaus on the opposite side of the room with what appeared to be him with his arms around an invisible figure. His voice was soft as he spoke, stroking someone they couldn't see rather gingerly. She'd seen Klaus use his power a handful of times but it never got less strange to her. Both Myra and Five watched with morbid curiosity as Klaus convened with whatever ghost was in this place before bading the invisible figure goodbye. Without attempting to explain anything to his brother and Myra Klaus hustled to the corner of the room, knelt down, and began to dig with his hand through the charred remains of a desk. "What's he doing?" Myra whispered to Five.

"If I knew then I'd tell you," Five whispered back, leaning in rather close to Myra. They watched as he continued to search for something under the rubble until he procured… half of an old, withered cardboard box? "What is that?" Five asked aloud, stepping forwards to inspect with his brother had found.

"She kept crying on and on about some package she was never able to send out before she died in a fire here," Klaus whimsically said, holding the box up to his brother. Unfortunately, it had been torn open by either fire or hands and all that seemed to remain was a part of the shipping label… Five inspected the new address, wondering if it connected with what he needed to do in any way. If he spent more time on this possible dead end then he'd be wasting important time, but if it were relevant… Five ripped the part with the address and threw the remaining cardboard to the ground, shoving the address in the pocket of his jacket.

"So… find what we came for?" Myra asked as Five walked back towards the door with Klaus trailing behind.

"Well, we found something."


	11. False Promises and Dead Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again, the Hargreeves cannot keep themselves out of trouble for very long.

On the ride back to the house Klaus and Myra got into a rather animated discussion about the effects him and Destiny's Children had on the present day. She totally believed that Klaus used song lyrics and other references to seem "prophet-like" but on the other hand, she was annoyed with him for changing the course of art so much. She would've loved to hear Beyonce sing instead of being a world-class actress and a part of her didn't even believe that Beyonce was purely a songwriter and never an actress. Five listened off-handedly, never giving his own input but listening nonetheless, amused listening to Klaus's antics. He had to admit that he'd missed his family during his exile in Brazil, not to mention the interesting dynamic the Umbrella and Sparrow Academy seemed to have. He was glad to see that they got along because with what was ahead of him… he was sure they'd need it. Besides, he was glad that this time he'd not have five siblings to fight alongside him but nine, giving them even more of an advantage but a lot more responsibility to keep track of. As his brows furrowed in thought he noticed Klaus had begun to mutter to himself while Myra stared at him. "You ok?"

Five took a deep breath. "I just… I missed all of this, I think. Not to mention the anxiety of having to look after ten emotionally stunted heroes." Myra lightly punched him on his shoulder at the comment.

"I think it's you who needs my protection," Myra joked with a grin just as Five turned into the alleyway next to the house.

"Fight a bunch of dinosaurs and think you're better than everyone else, huh?"

"At least I don't have a god complex from killing innocent people for a corrupt organization," Myra quickly replied, rousing a chuckle from Five. From the back, Klaus was pleasantly surprised to see that Five had gained a rather normal sense of humor back. He supposed the eight years might've been good for him after all.

As the three walked into the house ribbing at each other, what they failed to notice was a shady figure lurking in the shadows, hidden from their view by both a dumpster and a lack of attention. The figure watched silently as the trio retreated back into their house with clueless laughs. Raising its wrist to its mouth, the figure's mouth lowly murmured something and began to slink through the alleyway.

* * *

"So everyone is here?" Five cautiously asked to the assortment of people spread out throughout the foyer. His eyes scanned the room as his brain racked to try and see who was missing. His family was impossible to get together in one room this easy let alone six additional siblings. It was almost suspicious.

"Well, yea," Allison answered rather innocently, looking about the room at their family. Myra had situated herself on a stool, leaning the bar and supporting her head with one hand, lazily sipping on a coke and whiskey Klaus had fixed her while she watched Five who was apparently silently voted the leader. She supposed he did have more experience in these sorts of things; after all, it wasn't prehistoric creatures they were dealing with but people.

"Alright, so I think I have a lead but I'm not sure if you guys are going to want to hear this-" Five began, but was cut off by a multitude of things.

First and foremost, the sound of an explosion drowned out any of the words their siblings had to offer. The sound ripped across the room and an orange glow bathed over all of them when it began, the sound of the front of the house being destroyed cracking through their ears, the smell of fire and smoke becoming Immediately apparent.

Second, gunfire. Immediately after the explosion began, the sound of bullets tinging against the room around them and tearing through the wood still standing struck fear and confusion in their hearts.

Lastly- and the most prominent thing interrupting Five- was the shockwave from the blast blowing everyone from their feet into streams of rubble and dust caused by the explosion. As soon as the sound of the explosion and gunfire hit her ears she felt herself being lifted from the stool and thrown without any hesitation into the wall of glass behind the bar, falling to the ground as liquid and broken glass showered down on her. For a few moments she nearly fell unconscious from the hit her head had taken when she hit the ground and she could already feel blood trickling from wounds thanks to the broken glass. The only thing she could hear was a deep, intense ringing and the sound of her own beating heart. After a few moments the ringing slowly began to give way to the unceasing sound of gunfire, shouting, and harsh words. Underneath her she began to register the feeling of the ground shaking and flames slowly licking closer and closer to her-

Eventually, she came fully to and knocked most of the drowsiness from her head, rolling over and hearing the crack of glass as she did so. She felt many small shards pierce her skin but when she saw the sight before her, the bar counter having been destroyed by the explosion, her body didn't have enough attention to recognize the pain from the glass. Where the foyer had once been was a throng of unfamiliar forms all dressed identically in some sort of mechanical uniforms sparring against the Umbrella and Sparrow Academy, climbing and jumping through the rubble of the house that no longer stood. She noticed Vanya in the air taking on many of the figures at once though spending a lot of focus on repelling the endless gunfire aimed at her. Ben's tentacles were already snaking through the rubble and tearing the figures in half though he looked as he were about to throw up. Luther and Diego had teamed together and had disarmed several of the figures and were now working together to take them out. Allison, surrounded by men, whispered something and at once all of their heads exploded with a strange light. Other than that, she only caught small glimpses and hints of her siblings. Plants wove their way through the rubble and attacked the intruders not too unlike Ben's tentacles, and a few times she caught glimpse of Vanya attacking Wallace with energy to "power him up". Just as she noticed the absence of one rather prominent figure one of the intruders came around one of the fallen pillars and trained the sight of his gun on Myra without any warning-

With a blue flash, she found her stomach churning and her body laying on the opposite side of the room, hidden behind another wooden pillar. Five crouched over her with a look of concern on his face- "We need you," Was all he said as he pulled Myra to her feet by her arm. She nodded in confusion but she knew that now was not the time for questions, and she jumped into the fray while Five disappeared in a flash from beside her. He'd desperately wanted to stay by her side and make sure she was alright for some odd reason- but the battle was too pressing.

The battle was too chaotic for her to channel into their heads so she resorted to only using the physical electricity to begin to attack the suited creatures. She began to shock them into unconsciousness, more than once charring their bodies so much that she was sure there'd be no way they could survive. A few times she'd reached up to leaking pipes in the exposed walls and sent currents of electricity through them, shouting for her nearby siblings to jump as an entire group surrounding Luther and Diego fell to the ground, shaking as their nervous system was being fried. She kept catching glimpses of Five teleporting around the room, sometimes locked in fast-paced combat with the figures, but once he'd gotten ahold of one of Diego's knives he seemed to work much more efficiently. A few times either Shawn or one of his clones had saved Myra from someone sneaking up behind her but she didn't even have time to thank her brother in the chaos.

Just as soon as the battle had begun it ended as Ben tore out the last of the intruders in half with his tentacles, the rest of the siblings gathering around him and watching him in awe. Breathing heavily, the tentacles receded back into his chest… only for him to double over and vomit all over the ground. The siblings stood in the wreckage of their house not even knowing what happened or where to begin- what words were to be said? The sound of sirens was surrounding them in every direction, slowly growing closer and closer. The siblings all looked at each other as they caught their breath and re-steadied themselves on the rubble, tears leaking from some of their eyes when they saw their house in this state. The Umbrella Academy had seen it once before and that had not ended well for them and Five had a few flashbacks to watching Vanya destroy the world all that time ago and he nearly fell to his knees. Diego was the first to speak up, chest heaving. "Why is it, whenever you show up shit goes down the drain?" He growled, his focus on Five.

"I don't know, Diego. I don't fucking know," Five hissed in frustration. He felt awful and is part of the reason he'd decided to exile himself- now that they dragged him out of Brazil it had only been a day and there was already an attempt on their lives.

"Okay, let's try to calm down now and figure this out," Luther awkwardly said stepping in between the two brothers. All the while, the sirens were growing closer and closer to the house- how were they going to explain this one? What struck them as odd, though, was the sound of helicopters nearing- and as their eyes all traveled to the objects in the air there were not one but five military helicopters.

"Those aren't from Channel 5," Klaus said in a low tone, staring up at the choppers just as the first of the police cars began to round the corner. Five began to kick at the remains of the house, tossing them about with his foot. Myra could only wonder what was going on inside of his head-

"Uh, guys?" Wallace called out from behind all of them. They all turned to find Wallace crouching over a body he'd uncovered, an exposed, bloody face without armor, mangled yet still recognizable. They gathered around the body with shocked expressions on their face and their stomachs began to churn, anxiety welling in their chests as the siblings stared down on the dead man. Nobody dare said a word as the cop cars began to pull up to the house and streams of cop cars and black cars with completely tinted windows followed, suited men getting out- red pinpoints from lasers on the helicopters appeared, on their backs, the dust and ash from the fires visible in their streams.

"Is that the Secretary of Defense?" Shawn asked incredulously. Alas; laying on the ground in front of them cold and dead was the Secretary of Defense of the United States of America- with ten of the most powerful people in the country surrounding him. Ten people that the man who had America under his thumb wanted to get rid of. They had not only drawn the police but the secret service and the military as well. Now it was all beginning to click in Five's head, and just as the law enforcement began to climb into the rubble with their guns drawn, megaphones speaking from the helicopters, Five looped his arms through Myra and Luther's who were on either side of him. "Grab on!" He screamed. Myra reached her foot down to Wallace to make contact with him and the rest of the siblings scrambled for any point of connection with each other just as they blinked out of existence in a flash of blue light, just as guns began to fire upon the place they'd just been.


	12. In the House of the Rising Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reginald has some secrets... life-saving, apparently

When the Umbrella Academy and Sparrow Academy emerged back into existence they found themselves surrounded by snow-covered trees that dampened the light on the floor of the forest, all of them sinking knee-deep into snow and immediately shivering when exposed to frigid air. They all looked around at one another when Myra felt her arm being pulled to the ground- she looked aside and watched as an exhausted Five fell to the ground in unconsciousness. She knelt down and felt his head, searching for any entry wounds from bullets, looking for blood staining his clothes, but much to her relief he was uninjured. Wherever he brought them must've made him expend a lot of energy. Luther bent down and grabbed Five under the neck and under the knees, easily picking him up as if he were nothing. "Just a little heavier than when he were thirteen," he said, holding his shivering brother's body close to his chest.

The others were already making way towards the log cabin not too far away, dark and seemingly abandoned. Myra wondered where Five had brought them. The door of the cabin had been unlocked and after knocking, Allison was the first to enter the cabin, everyone else streaming in behind them. All of the lights were off and a fine layer of dust was coating the otherwise pristine inside- the decor of the place greatly reminded them of their now-destroyed home. After everyone was in Myra shut and locked the door behind them, Wallace immediately thinking to light the wood in the fireplace on fire with a box of matches on the mantle in an attempt to get some warmth. "Where did he bring us?" Allison asked aloud, marveling over the large cabin.

"No idea. Is he alright?" Diego gruffly asked. As much as his brother annoyed him he still loved the kid- well, the man way older than him at this point.

"He'll be fine, I just think this place is farther than he's ever jumped before and with a shit ton of other people. Got a little tired out," Luther reassured. He made his way over to one of the many sofas in the living room and gently laid him down, sliding the blanket hanging on the back over his shivering body. He patted his head gently before going to inspect the cabin. "I'll check upstairs," Diego said. Shawn and Sana followed him out of curiosity. Meanwhile, Myra took a sat on the end of the sofa next to Five, placing her hand on his foot and trying to shock some sort of warmth into him. Normally she thought people looked at peace when they slept- but this was not a peaceful sleep. He was still shivering from cold and his brows were furrowed, his eyes and mouth twitching every once in a while- but she didn't have the heart to wake him up. He needed to rest.

Once the room began to warm up from the hearth they gathered around it, Diego, Sana, and Shawn returning from the second floor and declaring it all clear. None of them knew where they were but figured it was safe for the time being as long as the owners of the house didn't decide to make a sudden appearance- though, with their luck they knew they probably would. "So what the hell happened back there?" Ben questioned, snuggling against Myra on the couch who was pressed up against Five's feet. They huddled underneath a blanket, a permanent chill still haunting their bones.

"Maybe the government wanted our help, or at least just wanted to keep tabs on us," Vanya suggest though her tone suggested she knew that that weren't true.

"They wouldn't have set our house on fire and tried to kill us if that were true," Diego sarcastically said. Vanya frowned.

"Then why was he there? If they put a hit on us they wouldn't have brought him along," Luther offered. Meanwhile, Wallace sat in one of the wooden rocking chairs, face in intense concentration as he formulated a theory. Nobody had any other words to offer as the situation was just so bizarre that there was nothing to say aside from Klaus trying to joke around and make light of the situation.

"Seus- well, the President- doesn't like the Secretary of Defense. Even before his presidency they had issues not to mention Seus' obvious dislike of the man. He would've wanted him dead anyways," Wallace said.

"Obvious? Wallace-" Sana began, but Wallace shot her a look that immediately made her shut up.

"Where are you going with this?" Allison asked Wallace as he took a deep breath before explaining.

"This might sound crazy, but- Seus might be framing us for his death. I mean, he's known for a while we're after him but I think Five returning scared him," Wallace said. The siblings sat in silence but none of them could refute the theory. They tried to think of scenarios less intense than that- after all, Seus was the last person you wanted not liking you- but it made too much sense. "I mean, think about it. Seus had to have known Diego and Myra left the country, no matter how sneaky they were. Do you know how easy it'll be to convince the country that they snuck a terrorist here from Brazil and when confronted, they murdered the Secretary and fled?"

"I'm afraid you're right," Luther said, leaning against the armchair that Allison was sitting in. She lazily scratched top of his head as her face flooded with concern.

"How can we get anything done if we're going to be the most wanted people in the country?" Allison murmured, her eyes unfocused and blurry with worry. Nobody had any answers to that.

"For once I almost wish the little brat would start talking," Diego sarcastically commented, glancing to Five's unconscious figure on the couch.

"Do you think they'll be able to find us here?" Shawn cautiously asked. Both Diego and Wallace shook their heads but Wallace spoke first.

"No, we're in the middle of the woods and I'd like to think Five is smart enough to bring us to somewhere untraceable," Wallace explained. Diego nodded in agreement. They all sat in silence for a few moment. Ben and Myra remained quiet, keeping to each other for warmth while Myra continually checked on Five to ensure he was alright.

"Guys, what about Pogo? What about mom?" Sana suddenly exclaimed, a look of worry on her face. Everyone shared forlorn glances as they thought about Pogo and Grace and what had happened to them in the fight, if they were still alive, if they were taken hostage… Nobody could say anything. They couldn't go back. They just couldn't. Besides, if Pogo and Grace were alive they surely would have them in custody of some sorts by now. Perhaps Seus would show them mercy.

"I think we could all use from rest. We'll be able to think clearer in the morning," Vanya suggested. To her surprise, everyone else nodded.

"There's a shit ton of bed upstairs," Shawn announced, standing up besides Sana. "Not sure what this place is, but we should be good for now."

And so, the siblings all trudged their way upstairs, fighting over the bathrooms and the showers and who got what bed and so on- until it was only Myra and Ben left on the couch with Five who'd they all somehow managed to forget. Ben lifted his head from Myra's shoulder and began to stand. "You coming?" Ben softly asked, placing his hand on his sister's shoulder. She looked to her brother and then back at Five who was still twitching in his restless sleep. So, she shook her head.

"No, I'll stay with him. We can't have him escape on us now," she softly said. Ben nodded, hugged her goodnight, and began to follow the rest of the siblings upstairs. She wasn't lying; they couldn't have Five disappear for even a moment. They needed to stick together. But another part of her could see how pained his sleep was and she could only imagine delirious fever-dream nightmares were running through his brain right now. For some odd reason she'd become attached to Five in a way if only for the fact that he was the only one to truly understand what she'd went through. That, and he was the closest one to her actual age. She leaned back into the couch and managed to find a handle that when she pulled, kicked a footrest out from the bottom of the couch. She snuggled herself into the blanket and allowed herself to fall into a much-needed sleep.

* * *

  
_  
Five watched the backs of his brother and sister fade away down the sidewalk, holding hands and rushing to get away. Diego peeled off in a car he'd managed to snag the keys of from the house with only the clothes on his back, and Five knew he was going to look for Lila. His eyes switched between them, sad to see them go and wishing he could embrace them just one last time. His eyes traveled over his house, now, and he thought about Klaus and Vanya, thought about what they were going to do. Was Vanya going to return to the violin? Would Klaus break his drug habit and perhaps actually make something of his life? Five didn't know. He barely knew his siblings anymore, yet… it all hit him, in that moment._

_Five fell to his knees, scraping them on the cement of the sidewalk as tears began to well up in his throat and he couldn't bear to fight the burn of holding them back so he allowed them to well into his eyes, spill over onto his face. His shoulders sagged in utter relief. Every kind of weight that had been on them was now gone- it was over. Everything he'd done had been for his family. The last fifty or so years of his life and everything he'd worked towards was finally accomplished. His family was safe, the world was still here- and so Five kneeled on the sidewalk in front of Sir Reginald Hargreave's house as tears streamed down his face, the salty liquid falling onto the sidewalk and creeping into his mouth. Five Hargreaves was crying tears of joy for the goals he'd accomplished, tears of anguish for the years of his life he'd lost, the childhood he'd missed out on, tears of anger from letting them all walk away from him. At the end of the day he'd always feel like the same scared thirteen year old that had wandered into the apocalypse, separated from his family and fighting for his life._

_It felt like he'd been weeping for hours when the sun finally began to rise, and Five realized he needed to leave. He couldn't stay here, he couldn't stay anywhere close to home- he had to leave. Every moment he was here he put his siblings in danger. But where to go? Where could Five Hargreaves go to live a peaceful life now that the only thing he'd known in his entire life was gone? Five managed to bring himself to his feet and stared at the house, wiping tears from his eyes, the salty tracks still remaining deep in his skin. Five Hargreaves was completely and utterly broken._

* * *

When Five opened his eyes the first thing he thought was that perhaps he'd been kidnapped. He was in an entirely unfamiliar place. But, after mere seconds the memories of what had happened the previous day rushed into him. Transporting not just himself but nine other people to a place so far away from home- in the moment, Five wasn't sure he'd be able to but here he was although he felt as though he'd been hit by a truck. His mouth was incredibly dry and his head was pounding so he sat up to search his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the shifting of Five's now awake body woke Myra from her light sleep. She glanced over to Five who was sitting up and looking around the cabin. "Good morning," Myra sleepily greeted, her eyes still half-closed.

"So I see we made it alright?" Five remarked in a croaky voice. Without response, Myra got off the couch and disappeared for a few moments, reappearing with a glass of water for him to drink. He gladly accepted the offer and guzzled the liquid down, satisfied as it soothed his dry, burning throat. The morning sun was just beginning to leak through the windows and Five supposed the rest of his siblings would be awake soon provided they weren't feeling too incredibly unmotivated.

"Yea, but- where are we?" Myra asked.

"When I was rummaging through dad's study I found a receipt of sale for a house in the upper peninsula of Michigan, virtually in the middle of nowhere. I knew this place existed and I knew the general area but I've never been here and I had no clue of the exact location. I'm surprised we made it here all together and all in one piece," Five remarked as he finished the entire glass of water and set it on the floor. "Though I have to say I've never done anything like that before and it obviously knocked me right out." Myra chuckled and nodded.

"Not as powerful as me, I guess." Five rolled his eyes at her comment. "So did you guys figure out what happened?"

"We… we think Seus framed us for the murder of the Secretary of Defense. We think he got scared when you came back around and decided to get rid of us."

"Only he didn't," Five dryly replied. "And here we are. I figured something along those lines would happen. People don't tend to like me very much." Now Five sat up further and swung his legs off of the couch and onto the floor as he untied his shoes and threw them across the room, extending his legs to stretch them and his toes with a loud, long yawn. He stretched his arms into the air to try to get any of the stiffness out of him- damn, he thought to himself. The jump had taken a lot more out of him than he'd thought it would. He decided not to address the fact that Myra had obviously fallen asleep on the couch next to him because he wasn't sure he could deal with any uncomfortable or awkward scenarios right now. He needed to figure out what the address he had was let alone figure out how to fight Seus when the entire country was going to be looking for him and his siblings.


	13. Remnants of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus does something productive for once

When the siblings each woke up and began to make their way down the stairs, rubbing sleep out of their eyes they were all met by the sight of Myra and Five lowly conversing over mugs of coffee at the wooden table situated in the kitchen. When Ben sauntered down the stairs he saw Allison and Luther cooking a massive breakfast with food that had somehow been in the refrigerator, fresh and unspoiled though they didn't question it. Five and Myra were up to their shenanigans at the table, and Shawn, Sana, and Vanya were gathered around some ancient board game they'd found in a closet. The rest were still asleep. "What are you guys doing?" Ben questioned as he made his way to Five and Myra. He was glad to see that Five was alright and could only hope he'd be some sort of counsel for Myra in her trauma of being thrown 80 million years into the past. He worried about his sister.

"Discussing how the hell we're going to get here while being the most wanted people in the country," Five said, sliding the cardboard with the address across the table. Five was lucky it had not slipped out of his pocket during the fight as it was currently their only lead. Ben read the address and only noted that it was in Seattle, Washington of all places.

"And we have no clue how we're going to get all eleven of us from Michigan to Seattle," Myra told him. Diego shrugged from where he stood at the foot of the stairs, seemingly awake now. The rest of the siblings who were asleep groggily trailed down the stairs behind him.

"Can't you just take us there like you did here, Fives?" Diego asked.

"It's not so simple," Five explained with a frown on his face. "We're lucky enough we all get here alive as it is- there was a good possibility one of you got lost in the space continuum where you eventually would've died. And if this address means anything, if it scared Seus that much… well, I think they'll expect for all of us to just randomly teleport in there. It's not gonna be that easy."

Diego nodded, still not fully understanding as they'd have surprise on their side but also not wanting to get lost in the space continuum. It didn't sound like a particularly pleasant time, though he wondered…. He wondered if he'd be able to find Lila that way. He spent every waking moment thinking about her and how he'd let her slip so easily from his grasp. The look on her face had been so scared, so frightened and now he was to leave her alone all over again. He only wished she knew that he hadn't stopped looking for her and he never would. "Well, we can't all go together. There's too many of us, and if we split up there's less of a chance of them getting us all."

"Are you kidding me, Diego?" Allison said, turning her attention away from the pancakes she'd been flipping. "We can't split up. You know what happens when we do."

"Do you know of any ways to get eleven of the most wanted people in the country to the opposite side without notice, genius?" Shawn sneered from the other side of the room.

"Hey, she's right," Luther said in a low tone, defending Allison. "We can't split up."

"As much as I want to agree I just don't see how it's possible," Wallace chimed in, crossing his arms. "Seus has eyes everywhere. We need to split up and spread those eyes out."

"Last time we split up and tried to get back together I had to put myself through a time paradox for you idiots," Five fumed, standing up from the table, spilling some coffee when he set his mug down rather harshly. "We have to stick together."

"Five, I'm sorry, but… I think I agree with Diego. It's just not safe for us all to be in the same place. Look at us now," Vanya input.

"But we can only defend ourselves if we're all together!" Ben chimed. "You saw at the house. If not all of us were there… well, things might've been very different."

"Yea, if we split up they could use as against one another," Sana added. All voices began to rise as they continued to argue for or against splitting up, the tensions rising and the argument growing more and more hostile. Vanya's eyes and chest began to glow with white light and the space around Five's hands glowed blue and rippled as he prepared for what was about to happen. Vines wrapped around Sana's hand as she stood behind her twin who'd already created two other Shawns on either side of him. Myra grabbed Ben's hand as he went to approach the group and held him back. She shook her head and mouthed the word no. He reluctantly held back and argued from a distance while the rest began to get into each other's faces until Myra took a deep breath and closed her eyes, reaching out and weaving herself through all of the heads.

When she opened her eyes she saw all of them moving their mouths but touched their lips in confusion when no words came out. Five and Wallace immediately turned to Sana with furious glares in their eyes but she was relieved when she saw the glow from Vanya and Five ebb away, the vines retreating back to wherever they came from on Sana. Once all eyes were on her and Ben who'd she conveniently left untouched, she began to speak. "You guys have all seen what Seus can do. I'm living proof of that. With all ten of us we weren't able to touch him. With all ten of us, we didn't stand a chance. But with Five here, with the full force of both of our families… we can do something about this. We can avenge him for what he did to me, to dad, to Harlan. Things can go back to normal," Myra pleaded.

"She's right. There's no way we can take him down split up, we've already tried that. We have to stay together as long as we can. It's the only way," Ben chimed in, staring at all of his siblings. From the back of the room, Five stood with a triumphant smile on his face as he turned back to those who had opposed his decision, looking for any opposition. Diego clenched his jaw but deep down he knew that Myra was right. If they could've done this split up then they would've and they would've never had to drag Five into this. Eventually, he decided to speak his mind on the issue and break the silence.

"Even if we do all go together- we'll need at least three cars, and they'll be tracking our bank accounts like hawks. How do you suggest we do that, without stealing, which will also be easily traceable?" Diego said with a smirk on his face, glancing at Five. He thought he'd found the perfect way of getting out of traveling together until finally, Klaus made an appearance for once.

"I know the perfect thing!"

* * *

"That piece of junk?" Five hissed, his fingers clenched to the fence separating the woods from the junkyard in front of them. Klaus was looking at the bus with a bittersweet feeling in his chest- it was incredibly old and rusted, and the balcony built on top likely wasn't safe anymore, and he doubted it would even run- but nonetheless, the bus of Destiny's Child that had belonged to Keechie was situated in the junkyard among a bunch of other old cars that were long past their expiration date. "We said inconspicuous,"

"The police aren't going to want to mess with a bunch of hippies!" Klaus whined next to him. "Besides, it's the only thing that can fit all of us. There's hammocks, too!" On the other side of Klaus and Five was Shawn, Allison, and Myra, the former two elected to drive the bus. Five decided the universe must truly be working in his favor when Klaus told them that Keechie ended up in Detroit after Klaus had disappeared, thinking he'd reappear in one of the clubs downtown that he often talked about, but Klaus never did and Keechie died. Destiny's Children remained strong but the bus was forgotten and wasted away in some junkyard in central Michigan, a remnant of a man insignificant to the world. The jump left Five vomiting in the woods next to the junkyard and even as he crouched at the fence out of sight from the owner of the place he was pale as snow, sweat glistening on his forehead. He hadn't wanted to expend so much energy so soon after bringing everyone to Michigan in the first place but here he was, feeling as though he was on the verge of death. Myra hovered close to him, ready to protect him in a moment's notice but also to shock him into consciousness if he happened to pass out when they needed to get back.

"So what's the plan, Fivesy?" Klaus whispered. He slowly looked over to Klaus.

"You don't have a plan for getting this piece of junk out?" Five furiously whispered. Myra glanced to Shawn and saw a familiar gleam in his eye- she knew that he had something formulated in his head and judging by his appearance was rather confident in it.

"You guys stay here, okay?" Shawn whispered, standing up and creeping along the fence before Five could stop him. He didn't have the energy to and only hoped that he could trust in Shawn. Meanwhile, Klaus, Myra, Allison, and Five silently watched Shawn creep along the fence until he reached the booth at the front. They couldn't hear or see what transpired but all they know is that five Shawn's generated alongside them and began to scale the fence, landing on the other side with soft feet. Sharing mischievous glances they all began to jog over to the bus. Myra and Five watched with focused eyes as the clones checked on the tires, crawled under the bus to check its condition, and eventually, lifted the hood as quietly as possible to inspect the elements that lay there. Meanwhile, Shawn must've been keeping the yardmaster distracted as they didn't hear anything…

Until one of the Shawn's turned the key in the bus and it roared to life with an incredibly loud and innervating roar. "Shit," Five said aloud when they heard shouting and pretty soon, shooting. All of the Shawn's disappeared aside from the one driving which they realized was the real Shawn- and he pressed the gas on the bus. With an unhappy screech the bus lurched forward, unfortunately directly at the four watching everything go down. They say Shawn screaming in the driver's seat as the bus barreled towards them and Five grabbed Myra and Klaus, teleporting them out of the way just as the bus broke through the fence before promptly vomiting on the ground. Myra held onto Five's shoulders as the bus screeched to a stop. He opened the door and looked at them. "Get in!" Shawn screamed just as a bullet whizzed by Myra and blasted the treebranch next to her into pieces. She looked back at the yardmaster.

"Myra-" Five groaned between retches "-he'll tell them we stole it," he groaned.

"I'll take care of it," Allison said with a grim look on her face. Myra nodded, ducking out of the way of a bullet as she grabbed Five's shoulders and began running with him towards the bus, Klaus closely behind. They all scrambled onto the bus which reeked of old marijuana and cinnamon, Shawn laughing wildly from the driver's seat. Klaus's eyes widened as he looked at the interior of the bus with a smile on his face, nostalgia filling him. Though he'd seen the bus technically so many years ago when it was brand new, nothing had changed aside from the fact that it was empty and the colors of the décor were more muted, not as vibrant as it had been when it was new. Five sprawled onto one of the blue sofas along the side, groaning and throwing up into an old popcorn bucket just as Myra slipped it under his head. Meanwhile, Shawn watched as Allison approached the man as he began to run, realizing who they were- he watched the woman reach her hands up to the man.

"I heard a rumor that you never knew that we were here and erased any living record of this bus."

* * *

When Allison boarded the bus, she brushed her hands off lightly with a grin on her face. "That was easy." She sat down behind the driver's seat, laughing and talking with Shawn while he drove while Klaus sunk into a red hammock hanging from the ceiling of the bus with a serene look on his face. As much as his followers had irritated him he couldn't help but miss their presence a little bit. Myra, on the other hand, stood crouching on the ground next to Five who, now that he'd run out of stomach contents to retch up, was still gagging and coughing up mucus into the bucket. Myra rubbed his shoulder in comfort.

"This is too much," Five breathed after one of the bouts of retching, staring up at the painted ceiling of the bus.

"Well, you saved us twice," Myra reminded him. Five shook his head.

"And if it keeps going like this I'm never doing it again," he said just as he ducked his head to the bucket to retch of mucus for what was hopefully the last time. Myra continued to rub his shoulder and wondered just where they'd be if Five hadn't been there.


	14. What Lies Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fresh air and truth.

While she waited for her siblings to finish packing the bus for their imminent trip, Allison found a spot away from everyone else secluded on the second floor of the cabin, a rocking chair in front of a window overlooking the dip in the landscape, still covered by trees. The trees gleamed white with the glare of the sun on the snow, wildlife and no other signs of humans are far as she could see. Sometimes she wonders what her life would've been like if she'd had never been adopted by Reginald Hargreaves. What would she have been like? Would she have gone to college and gotten a degree? A doctor, maybe? Would she even have realized that she had powers, or would she blend in with the rest of the world? Most of all… she missed Claire. Allison hated that Claire didn't exist in this timeline and never would again. As much as she wanted to run to Patrick and recreate the life they'd had she couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't bring herself to leave Luther and to put Claire through what she'd been through before. As she sat contemplating things she felt a heavy, familiar hand grip her shoulder. "There's still time to leave, you know," Luther softly said. Allison closed her eyes and sighed before shaking her head.

"Luther… we can't. We can't leave them," she sighed. Luther was quiet for a few moments.

"I knew you'd say that. I just… it wasn't enough time."

"We had eight years and once we do this, we'll have the rest of our lives."

"But what if…" Luther's voice trailed off and now Allison turned, craning her neck up at the gigantic man.

"That's not going to happen. We're in our full force, alright? Better than just the Umbrella Academy alone. We'll be able to do this." She turned back to face the window in her chair, completely unsure of what she'd just said. She had to have faith in whatever plan Five was concocting and the combined force of both of the academies, but she knew what Seus could do and she was afraid for what was going to happen. Luther wrapped his arms around Allison's neck from behind, resting his chin on top of her head as they stared at the view together.

* * *

Five sat in one of the recliners in the bus, face still pallid though he no longer felt so nauseated and sick. Still, he'd have to give it a day or two before he used his powers again. He needed to let his body rest. The Umbrellas and the Sparrows streamed onto the bus, wearily scanning the slightly cleaner and more put together interior thanks to Klaus, Sana, and Vanya's efforts while the others were packing the bus. Sana had even been kind enough to grow some vines of flowers and raspberries across the ceiling for grazing though Shawn had stopped her there or else she would've filled the entire bus with her creations. "No roof, Luther," Klaus said with a giggle as Luther climbed onto the bus and looked about the inside. Everyone took seats in the various sofas, chairs, and hammocks. They had no belongings and little to bring onto the bus aside from the food that had been in the cabin, blankets, knives, and other odds and ends they'd taken from the house. None of them knew why the cabin had been stocked but Five had a sneaking suspicion that Reginald was not as far away as they thought and anticipated this happening. Perhaps the old bastard cared for them in some sort of sick way after all. Shawn took his helm on the driver's seat while another copy of him, or the real him, lounged in a hammock with a book opened in his lap. "Everybody ready?" The driving Shawn called out from the front just as Allison made her way onto the bus and confirmed that they were good to go. A chorus of voices replied and with that, Shawn released the brakes and began the bumpy drive to the actual first road that was miles through the woods.

"Come on, you need some fresh air," Myra told Five as she watched him attempt to hold his composure but his face was still pallid and sweat was still beading on his forehead. He looked to her but didn't reply; so, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him past everyone to the back of the bus where a ladder on the interior led to the roof. The moment she grabbed his wrist, however, he tore it out and earned an annoyed look from her.

"You guys want a blanket?" Wallace asked with an eyebrow raised, extending one to his sister. Myra took and it thanked him with a smile before following Five up the ladder. She didn't know why but she felt oddly concerned for him. She knew how hard the two consecutive long jumps must've been on him. She'd overdone herself like that a few times on missions when she needed to control entire groups of people though she can't say she'd ever done it enough to completely knock her out cold. Though, there had been times when Ben had to carry her home. When she reached the top she saw Five had already made his way to the low-sitting wooden benches against the metal railings on the top. Luckily there was a path that Shawn was following where for the most part, the roof was free of any trees. Five closed his eyes, grateful for the cool, fresh air. Sitting down next to Five she lay the blanket over their laps.

"Thanks for the suggestion," Five said.

"I _am_ known for my good ideas," Myra joked. Five scoffed.  
  
"Mhm, and I'm known for my incredibly bubbly personality." Now it was Myra who laughed at Five's joke. Five opened his eyes and looked to Myra. He had come to notice that she was rather easy on the eyes and his eyes were, for some reason, always drawn to her, no matter where she was. He didn't feel as guilty knowing that in spirit she were around the same age as him but he would never get over the feeling of feeling dirty attracted to her body in her young twenties even though it was a normal physical reaction from his own young adult body. He blinked a few times and for once in his life, Five didn't know what to say.

"So… what do you think this address could be?" Myra awkwardly asked as she turned away and began to watch the trees go by.

"I think it has something to do with Harlan, but what it is… I don't know. If I'm wrong about this…"

"We'll be in a city on the wrong side of the country as some of the most wanted people in the country," Myra finished with a grimace. "Yea, I've thought about that part."

He wanted to tell Myra that he had _no_ fucking clue what he was going to do if this wasn't anything. The apocalypse was, well, the destruction of the entire human species but it was so _straightforward._ Don't let the moon crash into the Earth, don't let the world fall into a nuclear doomsday. But this… this was so much more complicated to him. When he'd saved the world it was due to his family. Five did anything and everything he could to ensure their safety. Up until going to Brazil, _everything_ Five had done had been for his family. But this? While Seus proved to be a formidable opponent and an awful, horrible villain his siblings would make it through it. They wouldn't be obliterated by the moon crashing into the Earth or by nukes. This issue was so… it was just so much more bureaucratic and murky than the apocalypse had been. This wasn't _vital_ to the survival of his family. This wasn't too far from the shit Reginald had forced them to do when they were children, it was just on a far wider scale. For a few moments he almost felt like he was a child again being forced into some bullshit mission by his father that, at the end of the day, had no effect on the fate of the world.

But, as he looked at Myra who was staring at the trees as they went by, he knew why he was doing this. What happened to her could happen to any one of his siblings and if Seus decided not to bring him back… well, as confidence in his intelligent as he was Five wasn't sure he'd be able to figure out a calculation to go back in time 80 million years ago and then back to the future again. The effort would kill him, he'd think. "You okay?" Myra's voice broke his thoughts.

"I'm fine. Just trying to think of when and where this is all gonna go to shit."

"Oh yea?" Myra said with a smile on her face.

"It's either the government finds us or Seus's people and either way, we're screwed. We're just lucky the Commission isn't around this time 'round," Five murmured under his breath. Myra pursed her lips as she thought about the Commission and what she'd learned about them from Diego and Five. She was rather happy that she didn't have to deal with any of that nonsense but it worried her that all her life there's unknown forces she'd not a clue about.

"How long do you think until we all get split up?" Myra inquired. The question had been bursting to come out of her mouth and she couldn't hold it in longer. "Face it, there's no way all eleven of us aren't getting split up at some point or another."

Five let out a loud sigh. "I don't even have a good estimate. Days, maybe? A week? I don't know. I just know I can't let it happen again," Five murmured. Myra didn't question but she looked at Five, wondering what it was that he so eagerly wanted to avoid. Five answered her question rather quickly but hesitantly, though. "I've watched my family die over and over and over again. Nearly died myself. It just… it gets old. It's hard. It's part of the reason I never wanted to come back."

"I'm sorry," She softly replied. She wanted to reach out and give his hand a squeeze or maybe put her arm around his shoulders to comfort him, but she recalled how he'd reacted when she'd grabbed his wrist in the bus. Either he wasn't very comfortable around her yet or he just shied away from physical touch. She didn't know.

"I'm fine," Five briskly responded, shaking off any of the sadness in his face or voice. The time for being so solemn and sad was over; he had a mission and a goal to tend to, and not five but ten other people to watch over and ensure safety. Though, deep down he knew that if any situation came down to it, he'd choose his own siblings over the newer ones he'd apparently acquired. At the end of the day, everything he did and had done was for his family and not for the sake of "being a hero" as Sir Reginald so desperately wanted him to be.


	15. Familiar Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus isn't the only one who remembers the bus

Their driving was short-lived when Klaus announced he had to use the restroom just when they made their way onto the first highway. Myra and Five had just climbed back down into the cab of the bus only to be met with an incredible amount of annoyance and shouting at Klaus for not telling them sooner, and even more shouting when he announced he couldn't use a water bottle as it wasn't pee that he needed to release. Shawn stopped the bus to a screeching stop at the side of the room, causing Five and Myra to fall onto an empty corner of one of the sofas. "Imsosorry-" Myra breathed as she scrambled to get off of him. She rolled over and collapsed onto the couch next to him while Five straightened out his jacket, shaking his head.

"Not even an hour in," he murmured under his breath as he listened to everyone bicker and talk. Shawn had somehow managed to get the ancient radio working, and the song _Shambala_ was now quietly emanating from all around them. Five procured the notebook from his father's desk from his coat pocket and flipped it open to an empty page, uncapping the pen that had been trapped inside the notebook. Myra watched as he began to scribble out an assortment of equations, numbers, and…

"Are those _names?"_ Myra asked with suspicion. Five simply nodded. "And… why?"

"Well, seeing as we have a several day road trip ahead of us I need _something_ to keep me occupied from all of these half-wits filling the bus," Five sarcastically responded.

"You know, when _normal_ people get bored, they draw, or write _stories,_ or _talk,_ not…. Math," Myra said with amusement in her voice, a smirk growing on her face. "But why the names?"

"Well, the first time around saving the world I made a probability map with the four most likely people we needed to kill to stop the apocalypse. But, the correct answer was nowhere _close_ to there so I need to see where I went wrong so it doesn't happen again. Just in case," Five explained in a flat tone, continuing to jot along the page in tiny, neat handwriting.

"Because I'm _sure_ that'll be applicable anytime soon," Myra sarcastically said. Five lifted an eyebrow and looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. She sure was annoying, in his head, but he seemed to like her presence. She was the most tolerable to have around out of anyone else, his siblings too emotionally stunted to stand and the rest of Myra's siblings even more annoying than her though Five supposed they may be different now that they were eight years older just like him. He shook his head and went back to working in the notebook before he heard Myra's voice chime in once again. "I think that's supposed to be a 'z' there," she said, pointing to a spot in his writing. Five immediately responded with indignance.

"No, it's not-" but he stopped short when his eyes traveled back into the line of calculations only to see that… she was right. "Lucky guess," Five said, scribbling out the wrong character and placing the z into the equation.

"Not just a pretty face, you know," Myra joked, leaning back into the sofa and closing her eyes just as Klaus clambered back into the bus. Diego threw a perfectly aimed almond at Klaus, hitting him right between the eyes. In a rather dramatic fashion Klaus brought the back of his hand to his forehead and made an exaggerated swoon before collapsing onto the floor, rousing laughter just as Shawn closed the door and the bus revved to life. Myra glanced at Five next to her and much to her surprise he was watching the scene with an almost unnoticeable smile on his face. Perhaps he'd loosened up a bit the past eight years. From the stories Klaus and Diego had fed her about Five she'd expected some sullen and uncaring young man and while he certainly showcased that at times she'd always catch him smiling and laughing when nobody was looking, showing more emotion than she'd been told was possible. His presence put her at ease. As much as she felt young again her soul felt so much older than her siblings and she could never exactly shake the feeling. She loved them and they loved her but in a sense she felt so out of place. But, not with Five. He was the same as her. He understood what she'd been through and it was that little detail that brought her comfort around him.

* * *

Five and Myra had spent a majority of the day squabbling over the equations he was scribbling into his notebook, Five getting rather heated at times when Myra was insisting that he was wrong. Part of it was doing it to just personally irritate him and entertain Klaus and Allison who clearly got a kick out of seeing their brother so flustered while Vanya begged her to stop and Shawn and Wallace egged her on. They all had to agree to put their powers on hold when inside of the bus when Sana began to choke Wallace with a vine and Ben intervened, nearly destroying the whole bus until Five was able to put a stop to things. After that, they all had a good laugh and shook the hard feelings off. It was one of the moments they'd wished that Taylor had returned. As quiet as he'd been he was always the peacekeeper among the siblings because he could quite literally rend them useless aside from their own fists. Still, though, Myra noticed Five had been acting… strange. Like he knew what was going to happen before he even emerged from his spatial jumps. She didn't question it and supposed he'd refined his powers while off by himself but it still made her rather curious of what he was capable of.

They were forced to come to a stop when they realized that'd they'd left the bag of toiletries on the ground at the cabin. Some of them complained that they weren't all that necessary but it took Luther taking his shoe off one time for the entire bus to stink up and begin to smell. That alone was enough reason to buy some soap and some deodorant. However, the issue they'd had was how they were going to acquire said materials. Being some of the most wanted people in the entire world was surely going to make things rather difficult. After much heated debate the consensus was that Allison should go in and use the intercom to rumor everybody inside of the small general store they'd located while Five hopped around and grabbed everything they needed. Myra noticed that Five had been quiet and staring out the front windshield the entire time, not contributing anything to the decision making process for once. "When they realize their inventory is drastically different from what it should be, they're going to check the cameras and it's not exactly going to be hard to tell who Five is."

"We're already wanted for treason, what's stealing some toothpaste?" Klaus lazily said as he rolled a grape into his mouth.

"Well, Einstein, if they get word quick enough of us being here they'll have a general perimeter where we could be. As of right now the government _hopefully_ has no clue where we are," Wallace explained. Everyone sat in the bus for a few moments, nodding until they realized that their strange bus was drawing an unwanted amount of stares.  
  
"We need to leave, soon," Shawn said, glancing out of the front of the bus. They'd covered the windows with curtains but the front windshield was completely open. "None of this will matter if anyone recognizes us in this shithole. For all we know the cops could already be on their way." Allison nodded and lifted the hood of her jacket over her head and threw on Klaus's ridiculously large and embellished sunglasses.

"Alright, I'm just going to go. Try not to cause an apocalypse while I'm gone, mmkay?" Allison said as she slid through everyone and walked down the steps, Shawn opening and closing the door as quick as he could. Five stood anxiously near the front of the bus, arms crossed and tapping his foot while the rest of the siblings laid low and had quiet conversations with each other. Myra noticed Five's anxiety and went to stand next to him. She watched as Allison entered the store.

"She'll be fine, you know. This place is so far into the sticks I doubt that-" Myra began, but Five shook his head and interrupted her.

"No, it's not that. It's _that_ ," he nodded his head to a small, simple black car parked across the gravel parking lot from them. The windows were tinted so if there was anybody inside she couldn't tell. "That car has been following us for the last thirty miles. Coincidence? Not at all."

Myra glanced back at everyone else to see if they'd heard what he'd said but it appeared as though none of them had any concern on their faces aside from Ben who kept anxiously peering out of the bus curtains, waiting for Allison to return. She focused her attention back to Five. "So what are we going to do about it?" She said in a hushed whisper. Five didn't respond, so she continued to talk. "Can't you just jump into the car-"

"And give us all away? No. And if they already know who we are then they'll be expecting that. There's not much we c _an_ do except wait."

"And if they find us… do you have it in you to get us all away again?" Myra whispered.

"Let's hope so. Should be able to, not nearly as far as last time but far enough to keep us out of immediate harm's way," Five replied. Just as he finished speaking they noticed Allison hurrying out of the store, pushing a metal grocery cart full of assorted items- at that exact moment the driver's door of the black car swung open and a man in strange apparel emerged before, to Five and Myra's dismay, he began to sprint towards the bus. Everyone else noticed just as Five jumped outside of the bus and grabbed both Allison and the shopping cart which landed right on top of Luther when Five brought them back in. Luther gave a loud, shocked groan just as everyone began to question what was going on- "Shawn, STEP ON IT!" Myra shouted, grabbing onto the side of the driver's seat just as Shawn turned the key. The man was growing closer and closer and, with comedic timing, two police cars came drifting into the parking lot with sirens blaring.

Even better, the engine sputtered and then died off with a weak cough. "Shawn, DO SOMETHING!" Five shouted, coming up behind Myra and peering out of the front window. The cop cars skidded to a stop and the man in the beige clothing began to shout something to them. "What's he saying?" Myra asked Five, who shook his head and intently watched Shawn focus. He supposed he must've manifested some of his clones underneath the bus to look at things just as Klaus burst into the middle of Myra and Five.

"My god," Klaus whispered, looking at the man who looked vaguely familiar. They began to hear what the man was shouting as he grew closer to the bus.

"…Keechie, I'm Keechie's son, prophet! Please, take me under your grace and enlighten me…" the man began to scream, waving his arms frantically just as the bus roared to life.

"Got it!" Shawn shouted. Everyone else, noticing the commotion and eyeing the cops step out of their cars, gun trained on the bus all shouted in unison,

" _DRIVE_!"

They were all promptly thrown backwards as Shawn stepped his foot down on the gas hard. They all flew backwards just as gun shots shattered the glass of some of the windows, the cops scrambling back into their cars to follow Shawn who was peeling out of the parking lot. Five landed on top of Myra and knocked the wind out of her. A part of him told him to get back up, she'd be fine, but another part of him told him otherwise. The latter proved to be stronger as Five turned back to the ground and offered Myra a hand as he steadied himself only to be thrown back on top of her when Shawn turned out of the parking lot. Five could've sworn he felt the bus only on two of the side wheels and it landed back on the ground with a shudder. "I'm-sorry," Five grunted, rolling himself off of her.

"It's fine," Myra said breathlessly. She turned her head and saw Five was already looking at her as they lay on the floor and for a moment, just for a moment she wanted to stay-

Until bullets began to clang against the walls of the bus, some of them breaking through only to be stopped by Diego who flung them back towards the cop cars as fast as they came. Now the cop cars were easily gaining on the ancient bus whose sputtering engine could only take it so fast- "Sana," Myra whispered. She craned her head backwards on the floor and saw her sister stand up with a determined glare on her face. She lifted her hands for just a moment and Myra could've swore she heard her whisper " _I'm sorry"_ as she shifted her hands and two _enormous_ oak trees fell onto the cop cars in pursuit of them, the black car crashing into the back of them at the sudden stop. Shawn continued to drive on and let out a whoop of celebration while everyone else let out sighs of relief, Luther and Allison patting Sana on the back who lowered her hands, face bittersweet. Myra knew she hated using her powers for destroying life instead of creating it but her sister was also willing to do whatever it took.

Myra let out a relieved laugh and stared on the floor of the bus, still staring at the ceiling. Beside her Five lay, breathing heavily until he realized that his hand had ventured to the top of Myra's- just as he realized he pulled his hand away and noticed that Myra didn't seem to notice anything as she was still laughing in relief and staring at the ceiling. He stared at her for a few moments with a small frown on his face- what was she doing to him?


	16. Down by the Bay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I'm fond of familiar faces.

Just as soon as they'd gotten onto the road Five instructed Shawn to pull off onto a small dirt road and began to lead him through a maze of backroads which became increasingly more neglect and forgotten the more Five guided them. "Do you know where we are?" Myra asked as she sat behind the driver's seat. Five was leaning against the back of Shawn's seat and he turned his head back to Myra to talk to her.

"After doing what I did for so long you get used to hiding." Myra supposed that made sense and leaned back, listening to the buzz of her siblings' conversations as Five guided them to somewhere they could all rest for the night. Eventually, Five had Shawn pull off onto a barely visible path through the woods, an old, rotting wooden sign depicting some long-forgotten campground that they were trailing into. The sun had just slipped below the trees and the milky lavender haze of twilight was beginning to surround them. Some of Myra's siblings had begun to doze off in the various sofa, recliners, and hammocks strung throughout the bus. Sana had tightly woven grass and bamboo over the broken windows and the bullet holes to keep some of the frosty air out but everyone in the bus huddled together in the cold. They were glad that the cabin had been stocked with plenty of blankets though even now it felt as though it wouldn't be enough.

Klaus had draped himself in a hammock and had plucked one of Sana's flowers from the ceiling of the bus, twirling it between his fingers as his eyes stared into space. He remembered Keechie quite well; perhaps the most prominent of his followers in the past and definitely the most persistent. Annoying as hell, but… loyal. Dedicated. And thanks to him, him and his family now had transport across the country. Klaus almost found himself missing the bastard in some twisted way and felt horribly guilty for leaving them so suddenly. His followers had annoyed him, of course, but he still cared for them deeply. Klaus leaving so suddenly had to have hurt them, and to think that Keechie held on long enough to pass down his beliefs to his son? Well, in Klaus's eyes it was tragic.

Shawn drove through the abandoned shell of the campground until they found a secluded clearing surrounded by trees where Shawn turned the bus off, a startling silence surrounding them. "We should be good here for the night," Five murmured, turning back and retrieving a blanket from the couch.

"We should probably have people on watch, still," Ben suggested, leaning against a window. At this point mostly everyone had settled into some sort of sleeping position and began to get comfortable.

"I can do it," Myra said. She'd always been a night person and would rather fall asleep in the early hours of the dawn rather than right now; she didn't mind staying up to watch over the others. Ben nodded. "I'll come get you after a few hours."

"Me too," a voice spoke up from beside Myra. She was completely unsurprised to see Five volunteer to keep watch as well.

"I'm not good enough?" Myra jested as they began to make their way off of the bus, Shawn opening the door and shooshing them out so he could shut it before more cold was able to sneak in.

"I'm not trying to sound old and bitter but after a while you begin to not trust anyone except for yourself," Five remarked as they got off of the bus. They walked just past the treeline to find that they were at the top of a cliff, the bottom revealing an icy lake. Myra settled down against a tree at the top of the drop and Five took a seat next to her, both of them resting their backs against the ancient wood.

"I only trust myself for complete other reasons," Myra murmured. It was true; Five had seen the worst in people, complete evil but Myra had lived by herself in a dangerous and exotic world for so long that she had no other choice but to trust herself. There'd been nobody else to trust when she was alone. She supposed Five had been through the same thing in the apocalypse but at least the Handler spared him of some of it. They sat there in silence for minutes, both staring out over the lake deep in thought. The woods was silent aside from the quiet sounds of wildlife and the wind brushing by their ears… and, Luther's monstrous snoring. Five figured it was only a matter of time before he got kicked off of the bus since he was far too heavy to sleep on the roof.

"You know- a lot has happened since I left. And… a part of me just wonders if it would've went differently if I'd have been there," Five murmured.

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" Myra dryly responded. "You're here now. Anyways, I'm not sure how much differently it would've ended."

"But you said it yourself, it'll take all of us combined to take Seus down so if I'd have been there before…" Five's voice trailed off. He'd watched his family die over and over again and he'd be damned if he'd have to do it again. Sometimes he wondered if he was destined to a life of having his family ripped from him only to save them again, and deep down, Five knew what his biggest fear was. His biggest fear was death. If he died then… then he couldn't save his family. Couldn't save the world. Myra's voice distracted him from his melancholy thoughts.

"You haven't met Seus. I almost think that that's in our favor, though. He knows of you but I'm not quite sure he completely knows what you're capable of. What you know," Myra offered. Five chuckled to himself.

"We can just be glad the Handler isn't around anymore or Seus would be a hell of a lot more dangerous," Five replied.

"You know…" Myra furrowed her brows. "I remember you explaining who the Handler was and Diego talks about her here and there, but it seemed like you were pretty close with her."

"It was… complicated," Five offered no more explanation. Myra didn't want to press the issue.

"Thanks for saving me back at the house, by the way," Myra said, picking at the frosted grass next to where she was sitting. Five didn't respond. Instead, she felt him stand up next to her.

"I'm going to check the perimeter."

With that, he disappeared in a flash of blue light leaving Myra wondering about the enigmatic character and a little hurt by his behavior. She knew she shouldn't be surprised as he'd never acted any different before but nonetheless, it stung. She couldn't quite figure him out. He still seemed so bitter and angry at the world but the more she thought the more she understood that it was probably deeper than that. Angry at himself for putting all of this into place in the first place. After all, she supposed if he'd never disappeared the first time then maybe things wouldn't have gone the way they did. Perhaps they wouldn't be where they are now. Perhaps… perhaps Myra would still be a normal person out there, or perhaps she'd be dead. Either way she found Five rather curious and after all, she had to attribute his actions to the reason she was here. She was surprised how much she enjoyed Five's presence seeing how bitter he acted but she supposed it was not only the fact that they were closer in age in mind than any of the others but also the fact that they had a shared experience. Spending years and years in a world without a single soul to talk to.

She was roused from her thoughts when she heard a rather large rustle from a bush immediately to the left of her. F _ar_ to big of a noise to be a forest critter. She immediately rose to her feet and her hands began to glow dimly with the flow of electricity. The rustling continued and she slowly began to approach the bush, charging herself up- on the other side of the bush Five blinked into existence with a flash, reached his hand into the bush and yanked a figure out…

Myra nearly released energy upon the figure until it… or rather, he… rolled over onto his back and held a black briefcase up in between him and Myra. "Please… please don't! I'm only here to talk to Five!" The figure wheezed. Myra didn't relent from the glowing energy in her hands until she heard what Five said.

"Herb?" Five exclaimed, reaching down to grab the man's shoulder and lifting him to his feet. Myra's hands began to dim and she relaxed herself, the electricity slowly ebbing away.

"You know him?" Myra questioned as Herb brushed himself off and straightened his clothing and his glasses, continuing to hold onto the briefcase with one hand.

"He worked for the Commission," Five said. Myra expected him to be more on edge if that was the case but he still seemed at ease around this new man so she supposed he must've been a "good" guy, so to speak. "…that has no need to exist anymore, right, Herb?"

"It's so good to see you again, Five," Herb said with an enthusiastic smile. He then turned to Myra with a delighted expression on his face.

"And Myra… I've heard a lot about you, you know. Thanks to Five here you've become pretty popular back at the base!" Herb exclaimed. Now Myra leaned back and crossed her arms, raising one eyebrow and then looking from Herb to Five. Five simply shrugged with a small grin on his face until he turned his attention back to the rather short man.

"So, Herb, what do I owe you for the pleasure of this visit?" Five asked.

"Oh, where to begin?" The man huffed, nervously looking between the two before continuing. He spoke with pride, though, and Myra began to find the strange new man almost cute in a way. "Well, you see- once the Handler died I was elected to be the new Chair of Commission- go me!- and Dot's also on the Board you'll be glad to hear. We began to rebuild with a c _ompletely_ new goal in mind. Five- wait till you hear this- now we're not maintaining the timeline into apocalypse but maintaining it to survive as long as possible! Our agents eliminate any threat of apocalypse or major collapse," the man excitedly said with a rather wide grin. Five's expression, on the other hand, did not change.

"Herb- I'm happy for you, I really am, but I'm _done_ with the Commission no matter what your new goal is-" Five began to calmly rant; Myra could tell he was really holding back fumes.

"Oh, no, we're not here to headhunt you!"

"Then please tell me, Herb, why are you here?"

"We-" Herb nervously fumbled his words "-we want you to be our celebrity guest speaker at our first ever Board of Directors dinner!"

"No." The answer escaped Five’s mouth just as soon as he'd finished the sentence. Herb's face visibly fell at Five's abrupt response. "I'm happy to see you again, Herb, and I'm happy with what you and Dot have done with the place, but absolutely not."

"But-" Herb weakly began to protest until Five blinked out of existence to somewhere neither Myra nor Herb could see. Myra sighed; she'd seen it coming.

"I can talk to him, Herb. It was nice to meet you, really. I've heard a lot about you," Myra said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible but she knew she wasn't very convincing.

"Thanks, Myra," Herb sighed, reaching out to shake her hand. "If you ever need anything… well, Five knows where to find us." After he finished shaking Myra's hand he tinkered with the briefcase and disappeared with a flash not unlike Five. When the man disappeared Myra heard some rustling behind her and was unsurprised to see Five sliding back down along the tree into a sitting position where he'd been before. He certainly looked more conflicted and anxious after the brief visit and with a sigh Myra went to sit down next to him again.

"It couldn't have hurt you to be a little nicer," Myra reminded.

"Yes, it could've," Five snapped rather angrily. "Those _people_ turned me into a killing machine- a _monster,_ Myra. I killed so much innocent blood, and for what? The things they made me do- I can't go back from that. I can never, _ever_ take it back. I don't care what they're doing now- I don't want any part of it."

Myra was rather taken aback by his snappy response but she supposed it was justified; all of those years murdering people, innocent people could not have been an easy life to lead. She almost preferred living in prehistoric solitude over that though it was such a difficult topic to juggle. Regardless, she simply tried to be there for Five, hoping that her presence would bring him peace. "You're not a bad person, Five," Myra softly said. To her surprise she watched Five's expression break slightly, the anger spilling away into something that resembled sadness.

"You don't know me. You don't know who I was- the only reason I got stuck in the apocalypse in the first place is because I thought- no, _I knew_ \- that I was better than everyone else. I was too cocky, I wanted too much. And it took me being stuck in the apocalypse to bring me back down," Five said through clenched teeth, holding back emotions. Myra didn't understand why he held them back so often. "Everything I've done- I haven't done it to be a _hero,_ or to _save the damn world._ I did it for myself- for my family. It's so selfish."

"You know what? There's absolutely nothing wrong with that- Five, I put my family before _anything_ and that's not selfish," Myra comforted, scooting a little closer to him. To her immense surprise he didn't scoot away but seemed to welcome her being a little closer to him. He put his head behind his knees and was breathing heavily- Myra knew that he had to have been holding back tears. She knew that feeling _all_ to well but she wasn't afraid to hold back. Five was, and she continued to watch him struggle, choking back the tears of sadness, tears of rage. Five had some _serious_ issues that must've only been worsened by his isolation. So, instead of feeding him empty and meaningless words that wouldn't have helped him she put her hand on his back and softly ran her thumb up and down. The first kind of any physical touch he'd accepted from her.

They sat like that for a while. Myra began to almost worry that he'd hyperventilate- she so badly wanted to tell him to cry, to scream, to do whatever he needed but she couldn't bring herself to talk. Five's breathing eventually slow. He lifted his head from his knee and shifted his back in a way to get his back out from Myra's hand- she'd expected that, he seemed to shy away from anything physical- and was simply glad to see him better. As Five was bringing himself back together Diego and Ben emerged from behind the tree next to Five. "Get some rest," Ben told Myra.

"What he said," Diego gruffly copied. Before Myra could attempt to talk to Five again privately about what had just happened he blinked out of existence and when Myra went into the bus, he was nowhere to be seen.


	17. Ignorant Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As if the Hargreeves haven't made enough questionable decisions...

The following morning Myra was woken when the bus groaned to a start, Shawn in the drivers seat singing some tune playing on the radio. She was sandwiched in between Sana and Wallace and for a moment, just a moment the cold creeping into her bones she realized how much she missed Taylor. When they were children he'd always been like a radiator for some reason and in the cold she'd stuck close to him for warmth. She wondered where he was, what he was up to… if he was alive. Surely, if he was, Seus or the government had to have taken him in. She shook the thoughts out of her head, knowing that she could spend all day thinking about Taylor's fate if she had time.

She sat up just as Shawn began to back out of the space and make his way out of the decrepit parking lot. Her eyes found Five sitting in his usual spot on the sofa immediately behind the driver's seat. His eyes were trained on the ground and Myra could see dark circles that had gathered under his eyes. She slowly got up and made her way towards Five, plopping on the couch next to him while everyone else slowly began to rise. "No sleep?" She murmured. Five shook his head. Myra heard Vanya speak up from where she had stood up.

"Guys… are we just going to ignore yesterday? They know what we're driving and this-" she motioned around to the entire bus, "-isn't exactly conspicuous."

"I mean, what choice do we have? We're in the middle of nowhere, and we can't exactly walk to Seattle," Diego responded, sitting on the floor and leaning against the edge of the sofa.

"Couldn't Five just jump us there? It'd be a hell of a lot safer even if we need to camp out for a few days in between jumps," Wallace suggest, throwing a glance at Five who shot a rather annoyed expression back at Myra's brother. Five opened his mouth to talk but Myra knew it wouldn't be pretty so she interrupted.

"We can't risk it- Five hasn't pushed his limits that much before, not teleporting _all_ of us great distances, and if they find us- well, we need him charged up and ready at all times," Myra quickly responded. Luther and Allison nodded in agreement.

"But Vanya's right, we have to do something other than this," Sana responded just as they pulled out onto the dirt road from the campground driveway. There was an uncomfortable silence in the bus. It was obvious that they'd only continue to be caught over and over again in the bus, it was too obvious and too noticeable. They also couldn't steal other cars as they'd be reported and again, too obvious. Five clearly didn't trust himself jumping so far with so many people that often and nobody really wanted to test him, so, it seemed as if they were in a rut of sorts. Myra knew fighting Seus wasn't going to be easy but she didn’t think it would be this difficult. Besides, there was always the possibility that Five's lead had nothing to do with Seus. None of them wanted to even consider that, though. No matter what they did it seemed as if they were toast-

"Well, that’s not exactly our biggest problem," Diego said, standing at the back of the bus and peering past the curtain. Five and Myra's stomach churned, already knowing what he was about to say before he said it. "Looks like somebody's already trailing us."

Five jumped to the back of the bus next to Diego and peered past the curtain at a dark green car following them. " _Shit,"_ he said under his breath.

"Sana-" he began, wanting to ask her to again cause a diversion with the trees but before Sana could talk Luther spoke.

"I mean… maybe we could talk with them, reason with them? Maybe they're not with Seus or the government. They could… I mean, that guy yesterday, he's from Klaus's cult, right?" Luther asked.

"Not a cult," Klaus butt in. Five contemplated for a few moments and for once, actually found merit in Luther's words. He looked to Myra who turned to Shawn immediately behind her.

"Pull over," she quietly ordered.

"What? Why-"

" _Now,"_ Myra said leaving no time for any more objections. Shawn slowly begin to press on the squeaky brakes and the bus rolled to a not-so-peaceful stop on the side of the road, eventually coming to a stop. The car trailing them followed suit and rolled to a stop. "You guys stay in here," Five told them, disappearing and then reappearing outside inbetween the bus and the car. Rolling her eyes, Myra forced Shawn to open the door of the bus and ventured around the side of the bus to meet up with Five.

"I told you to stay in the bus," he flatly said.

"Think you'll need some backup, Fivesy?" Myra playfully said. Five rolled his eyes but found himself biting back a smile. He knew that she wouldn't be the only one to follow but was surprised when it was Klaus who decided to back him instead of any of the others. Klaus shakily nodded at Five. He knew who was coming. He knew who this would be… and he was absolutely dreading it.

They watched as a woman stepped out of the car, faced covered in large sunglasses. She sported a powder blue, loose top with matching bottoms and an assortment of strange charms and necklaces were strung around her neck. She left the car door open as she approached the trio rather nonchalantly, a serene smile on her face. "Prophet, I… it's truly an honor," the woman said, approaching Klaus and dropping to a knee in front of him. Klaus shook his head in annoyance, but, still placed his hand on the top of her head and allowed her to rise. "The honor is mine…"

"Susan," the woman said, but Klause didn't care. Just wanted to make her feel special.

"What do you want?" Five suspiciously asked. The woman's head turned to him, eyes still concealed with the sunglasses. Her expression, surprisingly, did not change when she faced the bitter man. She still seemed flabbergasted by meeting what must've been the equivalent to a Christian meeting Jesus Christ.

"Our leader wants the bus back," the woman said airily, immediately getting to the point. "And he wants you back with it."

"Who's your leader?" Klaus questioned. The woman simply giggled.

"Why, the second true prophet of course. Your protégé, or… partner," she giggled. All of them furrowed their brows in confusion as they each thought to themselves that the woman was truly insane. "The bus is a sacred artifact to Destiny's Children and the second prophet has determined it has a spiritual energy too pure for this world so he needs to watch over it. And you, Prophet Klaus," the woman cooed, tracing Klaus's chest with her finger. He looked so utterly confused.

"You're not getting the bus," Myra dryly told the woman. The woman's expression soured only slightly.

"Well, Miss Hargreeves, the second prophet will not hesitate to report you to the authorities if you don't comply," she sweetly said, her voice dripping with venomous honey. "And we don't want that, do we? The second prophet has connections and has ensured that your whereabouts and forms of travel will remain hidden if you turn over the bus and the Prophet."

Myra and Five shared a glance with each other; how were they supposed to solve this one? Surely Destiny's Children and this mysterious 'Second Prophet' would have a fail switch in case they killed the woman where she stood. Before they could answer Klaus find a pastel pink envelope placed into his hands by the woman. "You have twenty four hours to decide!" The woman giggled, before bowing before Klaus one last time and retreating to her car. It started with a quiet noise and just as quick as she was there, she was gone, leaving the three to stare at the envelope in confusion and also, anxiety.

"What the hell was that?" Klaus asked. Five shook his head and jumped back into the bus, leaving Klaus and Myra in the dust. "God, I did _not_ miss that," Klaus groaned as him and Myra walked side by side to the door of the bus. When they got in they were immediately greeted by the ever-so-familiar sound of arguing.

"…neon sign saying 'trap' right over it!" Five shouted.  
  
"And what other choice do we have, Five?" Allison shot right back.

"To not walk right into the lion's den!" Five seethed, pacing back and forth.

"I've seen smarter traps in kids' TV shows," Wallace dryly responded. "Whether this is Seus's or the government's doing, it can't be safe. Either one of them will play dirty and bring Destiny's Children into this." Five pointed at Wallace as proof that he was right until Luther spoke up.

"Five- it's either we get this over now and have a chance of escaping from this mess without the government having any more traces of us or we stay in the bus and get caught within the hour- you can't keep saving us like you did at the house, Five. You took an entire day to recover from that," Luther seethed, towering above his brother who did not act intimidated in the slightest.

"Why would we walk right into their arms, though? At least with the bus we have a fighting chance if we stick to rural roads and-" Diego began.

"- _because_ either way, we're screwed. But a little bit of anonymity sounds more promising than nothing at all, doesn't it? These quacks don't have enough brain cells put together to put together a convincing trap," Sana groaned, interrupting them all. At that comment all of them spoke at once and instead of quieting to listen to the others talk, they all just began to raise their voices and talk over each other, their voices growing to shouting until Klaus, of all people, got everyone to be quiet.

"Will everyone **_just SHUT. UP_**?" Klaus shouted over the fray. Hearing the normally complacent man shout so loudly caused nearly everyone to almost immediately shut up and face their attention towards Klaus. They all eagerly looked to him for a response; after all, they'd not yet heard his say. Klaus sighed and closed his eyes dramatically.

"Look, I know Destiny's Children, and I knew Keechie. That being said, I have to imagine that Keechie's son is a lot like him. Guys, I trust Destiny's Children with my entire heart. I don't feel anything off about this enough to try and run away," Klaus sighed.

"And why didn't you read her?" Shawn hissed as he shot a glance at his sister. Ben shot him a look but Shawn continued to glare, annoyed with his sister. Myra shook her head and didn’t respond. He knew how she felt about that. Nobody paid attention to the small side discussion, however, and were still entranced by Klaus.

"You don't want to get caught- not going to happen, guys. You want to be mad at me- fine, whatever, be mad. But I know Destiny's Children and I know that this is our best choice."


	18. Parting Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And this is where the fun begins

And so, Myra and Five found themselves sitting in the bus as Shawn parked outside of the dingy bar that the address in the envelope had led them to. It was on the outskirts of a nearby city and Myra was surprised that any law enforcement hadn't come after that. She did not have a good feeling about this at all and she knew there's no way that this would end well. Five, on the other hand, was absolutely fuming beside her. Mostly everyone had decided to trust Klaus even as Five persisted on the entire drive there that they were endangering everything they'd ever done and the lives of everyone in the country. At one point, Allison had to rumor him to shut his mouth but he'd somehow been able to get rid of the rumor by performing a spatial jump. Myra still wasn't quite sure as to what all he could do with his power and it seemed as if he wanted to keep it shrouded in mystery from the rest.

"I'm not getting off the bus," Five grumbled as the siblings gathered around the front, peering out of the windows. It was the middle of the day and the place seemed like it was going to be pretty empty but they still didn't want to take very many chances.

"You need to jump us in," Ben said, crossing his arms and tapping his foot as he stood before Five.

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" Five snapped, looking up at Ben.

"Five…" Vanya moaned. Five let out a deep sigh and stood up while everyone stared him down.

"Spend all this time trying to save you idiots only for you guys to want to die again. Guess I just won't try next time," Five said exasperatedly as he looped his arm through Vanya's. Everyone just managed to get a hand on someone connected to Five just as he blinked out of the bus with the group, leaving it empty. When they reappeared inside of the club they were immediately flabbergasted at the sight. The inside décor was decked out in stuff that could only be described as complete and total "hippy". In addition to the crazy décor there were neon signs and shapes everywhere. Flashing rainbow lights caught them off guard at first and made them disoriented and the overwhelmingly strong smell of marijuana and variations of incense hit them rather strongly. Chill music played in the background and as the two academies looked around they saw a wide assortment of people, more than fit the cars outside, all lounging about and alert and unfortunately for them, staring at the incomers.

Five swayed on his feet a little, getting slightly dizzy after teleporting them all but Myra grabbed his arm to steady him and in a moment, the dizzy spell was gone. He inspected the inside just as thoroughly as the rest until he heard an unknown voice cry out, "'O Chosen One!"

A crowd of people immediately rushed the group but ignored all but Klaus, dropping to their knees in front of them and getting into bowing positions whilst chanting some strange sort of prayer. Many of them rolled their eyes and backed away from Klaus, some forced from their place as the inhabitants of the bar continued to surround Klaus and touch him softly before bowing down and praying. Klaus looked rather annoyed at the entire scene. "Well, it couldn't hurt to ask for some fresh food," Wallace said, glancing over at the bar nearby where the bartender was watching with longing to join the others worshipping Klaus. Some made their way to their bar while the others spread out throughout the place keeping a wary eye on what was going on. Ben sat by the front door to ensure nobody slipped out or in while they weren't paying attention while Klaus began to talk to his worshippers and try to figure out what exactly was going on and who this mysterious second prophet was.

Luther, Allison, Diego, Shawn, and Sana wandered over the bar together and began to request a large variety of foods and drinks for their siblings from the bartender who looked annoyed at having to cater to such a large, new group while his prophet was there but nonetheless, went back to the kitchen to begin to prepare whatever food they requested. Myra watched as her siblings spread out throughout the club with the Umbrella Academy and noticed Five had jumped to the back of the club, angrily pushing through a black door near the back. Glancing around she didn't want to join the others at the bar and similarly didn't feel like lounging about and doing nothing in one of the oddly shaped colorful chairs scattered about so naturally, she decided to follow Five out of the back door.

As Five pushed through the back door he was incredibly glad to get further and further away from the reek of marijuana. He'd always hated the smell of the stuff and he found that it clouded his judgement. In such a dangerous position his siblings had put themselves in, Five found it best to be on guard as always. He truly wondered why he even tried anymore; everything they did almost seemed like they were trying to get themselves killed and pushing Five to his limits in order to save them. He ventured through the smaller backroom that appeared to serve as a storage room, lingering for only a short while until he decided that the reek was still to strong in this room. He supposed he'd have to wait outside but that might've been better anyways so he could remain on lookout on the perimeter of the building. Perhaps he'd settle on the roof to watch for- shit.

Five teleported back into the club and all he managed to shout was "RUN!" to everyone, silencing the club for barely a second until all hell was about to break loose. Five whipped around to defend them from the back until he saw Myra through the doors forced open by the wind from the two masked men with comically large guns rested on their shoulders, aimed directly at Myra's forehead- Five teleported and Myra found herself being tackled to the ground just as the sound of gunfire caused her ears to ring; Five tackling Myra down to the floor gave Diego just enough time to throw a shard he'd broken off from the glass of his drink at the attackers and it curved in the air and sliced both of them through the neck, causing them to fall onto the ground. "We shouldn't have-" Myra began but before she could finish she found herself all the way in the front of the bar, Five's arm wrapped around her shoulders. He'd managed to teleport them into a standing position and just before Five shoved her behind the wood of the bar she saw more masked men with the same guns pouring into the bar. Around them, the sound of gunfire began and the familiar sounds of Ben's powers emerging and everyone else preparing to fight sounded around them. "I knew this was a set-up!" Five cried, ducking under the counter as bullets ripped through the top of it. "We should never have come."

"I know, but we can't go back now," Myra told him. Five developed a strange look in his eyes.

"But maybe we can."

"Five, what are you-" she began, but stopped when she watched Five stand up completely and jump… only to reappear two feet in front of him. He looked at his hands, confused and attempted to jump again but only landed another two feet in front of him. "What the-" he said, staring down at his hands. In ordinary circumstances Myra might've been incredibly confused as to what the issue was but in the back of her head, she began to realize what was happening and her stomach began to churn. She knew exactly what this was. Five ducked just as a gunshot tore a hole in the wall behind him and he teleported back into a crouching position next to Myra. Just as she stared down at her own hands to produce a weak and feeble glow, Five peered out from behind the counter and noticed something strange. Ben's tentacles seemed incredibly short and rather weak, Diego's aim kept missing which never happened, the men Allison rumored seem to only fall under her spell for a few seconds before breaking it.

"Five," Myra breathed, wrenching him back. He turned to look at her and a chill ran down her spine when he saw the look on her face. "It's Taylor. He's close."

Just as soon as the words came out of their mouth they heard a big boom that caused immense pain in their ears; the two were flattened to the ground just in time to see the roof start to come down on them-

She felt herself being teleported once more, disappearing into a flash of blue light before reappearing down the sidewalk from the bar just to watch the last of Vanya's white shockwave collapse the bar. She was floating several feet above the ground but as the seconds when on she floated lower and lower, the light slowly dimming as she looked at her hands in utter confusion. Myra and Five watched in fear as their siblings crawled out from the wreckage only to be met by swarms of masked men. Myra wildly whipped around and searched for Taylor who had to have been growing closer and closer judging on how much their powers kept failing. She felt a hand on her shoulder again and she reappeared another black down from the bar- she knew what Five was doing. "Five, we can't leave them!" Myra shouted in a panic, whipping back around to look Five in the eyes.

"We can't save them if we're dead," Five said, staring at the remains of the bar from the further vantage point.

"Yes we can- do something, Five! Come on!" Myra plead, turning around to sprint forward but Five appeared in front of her, holding her back by the shoulders.

"Myra, we can't. And the longer we stay here the more trouble we put ourselves in. Can't you feel him getting closer, Myra? I don't know where he is or whose side he's on but he's putting us all in danger," Five pleaded, staring straight into Myra's eyes as he spoke of Taylor. For the first time Five began to feel real, actual fear for himself and more importantly, his family. In the apocalypse he'd had no fear but a lack of hope; when saving the world he'd been scared but always confident enough in the fact that he had the Commission and his own time-traveling abilities to fall on; but now, now… he didn't even have himself. He felt entirely helpless in the situation and if he allowed Taylor to get any closer he wouldn't even be able to get himself and Myra into a position to figure things out. "Help us," Five whispered under his breath, closing his eyes. He just needed the Commission. One single briefcase could fix this. "Please."

But, to his avail, nobody came. No knight in shining armor magically appeared and so, while he was still capable of doing so he teleported himself and Myra even further from the bar, looking into Myra's eyes expecting to argue with her- but he only saw wide, gaping blue eyes and fear. Her mouth had dropped into a silent O and as Five watched her in confusion she slowly raised a shaky arm and pointed to something in the air behind him. Five turned and his blood immediately ran cold.

Over the bar a giant, swirling mass of darkness had opened up in the air… and it was sucking up everyone and everything in the perimeter. "NO!" Myra screamed, pushing past Five as she watched both their families and the masked men being sucked into the hole alongside the wreckage of the bar. She heard the faint screams of Sana, Shawn, Ben, Allison, Luther- everyone she loved being sucked up into the hole, grasping at the air as though they had any attempt at staying away from this. As she continued to run forward she felt arms hug around her from behind and Five jumped with her even further away, the black hole barely a speck at this point. Evidently they were traveling further and further from Taylor and Five continued to jump backwards, Myra shaking in his arms as he made his way far, far away from the bar, far away from Taylor, far away from the monstrosity swallowing her siblings. Meanwhile, just as the black hole appeared nobody had enough time or attention to even see the black-clothed figure appear with a blue flash, grip Diego's arm, and disappear just as his siblings began to get sucked up by the storm…


	19. Into the Woods

After a series of jumps Five found himself and Myra in the middle of a parking lot on the total opposite side of the city they'd just been in. Myra was still in his arms, shaking at what she'd just witnessed when Five noticed he was weary and likely needed a few minutes to recharge. He was taking deep breaths to recover from what had just happened and him and Myra both slumped against the side of the building whose parking lot they'd landed in, sitting in the snow-covered sidewalk, Myra still shivering in Five's arms. He didn't have the strength nor heart to push her away as much as he hated the contact- he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was too overwhelmed and for the first time ever, completely frightened. With Taylor seemingly working against them… this mess was going to be a lot trickier. He was just happy he managed to get himself away and this time he wasn't going to be doing things on his own. "What w _as_ that thing? Five panted. It almost looked like a black hole but Five knew that that wasn't possible.

"That was Seus," Myra said, letting out a sudden sob that caught Five by surprise. She buried her head into Five's chest as her entire body shook in fear, anguish, and trauma from seeing the black hole again. "That was Seus, Five. That's what he did to me eight years ago and… I don't know where they'll be. He could've sent them back or he could've just scattered them. I don't know Five, but I'm s _cared._ We have to get them back, we have to get them back or else-"

To Five's surprise he found his hand on her back. "We will. We'll get them back, I promise." As he was soothing her rather awkwardly he noticed to people who'd been jogging together on the sidewalk stop at the sight of the two, sharing a glance before slowly backing away and sharing frightened glances. "Shit," Five said under his breath, grasping Myra's shoulders before they disappeared. When they reappeared Five found themselves in a cold, wet alleyway where trash had melted the snow. Myra was still in his arms but he knew that she didn't have time to mourn right now.

"Myra, we need to go. We have to find a place to hide out for the night," Five said softly, glancing around before returning his attention to Myra. She lifted her head, her eyes puffy but she wiped the tears off of her face and nodded in agreement. "I can jump us one more time, just far enough to get out of the city, but we'll have to move fast and we might have to move through the night."

"Okay," Myra simply responded. Five grabbed her and they jumped once more into the woods skirting the city. They immediately began to walk quickly in the other direction, the city quickly fading behind them. Neither of them talked as they walked through the snowy wilderness, unsure of what to do next. Five shoved his hands in his pocket to hide them from the bitter, cold wind. He knew that the city they'd just been in was Chicago and that winters so close to Lake Michigan tended to be frigid but now that he was experiencing it with no clue where to go… he supposed he could just travel back in time and reverse all of this but he hadn't time traveled in large extents in such a long time and he didn't trust himself to get it right. Besides, he still felt weary from the jump from their home to the cabin in Michigan let alone all of the jumps during the fight that he wasn't necessarily prepared for. He'd need to build his strength back up before he considered something like that. Even then, Five knew that Seus was always going to be in this new timeline they'd created and he'd always had a sneaking suspicion that they'd get split up at some point. Five didn’t see a way to get around that. "So Seus… that was his power," Five stated out loud. Myra nodded beside him.

"Yea. We don't exactly know what it is but when he… when he showcased it on me I got sucked into a hole like that," she explained. "But further than that we don't know. As prominent as he is in the country he's a mystery."

"Well, that's going to be fun to fight," Five sarcastically remarked. The snow slowly got heavier and heavier around them and began to stick to their clothing in fat but delicate snowflakes.

"If the time comes and you guys can buy me enough time, I can get into his brain. Turn off his powers. Or… I'm sure Allison could just as well rumor him," Myra theorized. "But, I don't see how we're going to get to that point. If they catch us or if we show up there he's going to have defenses set up for us, I'm sure he already has…" her voice trailed off and Five knew exactly what she was thinking.

"You think Taylor's working under him," Five blankly said. He did feel pity in the sadness she displayed. He couldn't imagine one of his siblings working for, say, the Handler. Diego had had the chance but even he remained loyal to his family.

"Taylor was there. Or at least close. And he was trying to stop us, that's the thing. He can turn it off and on. I don't know why he'd do this, we always got along growing up and he never shut up about meeting Klaus," Myra explained. She shivered intensely as the snowfall worsened and the sun slowly began to sink towards the horizon. They needed to find a place to stop for the night that offered warmth. They were deep into the woods at this point and Five knew they were headed west. He didn't exactly have a plan for getting to Seattle in such a short time. Now that there was only two of them they could travel in jumps but that would leave him not at 100% by the time they reached where they were going, not to mention the fact that both of them wanted to find their siblings. But, Five knew that him and Myra needed to investigate this address first. And then focus on their siblings and facing Seus head-on. As much as he missed fighting side by side with his family he knew that Myra was likely the best to have by his side for this sort of thing. As for Taylor… Five had no advice to give. Sure, he'd been betrayed in the past, especially by the Handler, but by a sibling? He'd never dream of it. As annoying as they were they were loyal as hell. So, Five resorted to ensuring that Myra was in a good state of mind. After all, he needed her to be.

"Are you… alright?" He awkwardly questioned. Normally he never particularly cared about feelings all that much, especially after spending so much time alone, but he'd drawn a connection with Myra through shared experience and she gave him something he'd never really had before other than his complicated relationship with the Handler in the past. "I know that seeing Seus again couldn't have been easy."

"I'm fine," Myra said with a thick voice. "I just… he could've thrown them into anything. It's the not knowing that gets you, you know?"

Five nodded. "When I got back and saw the look in Vanya's eyes… when she told me she'd waited up every night for me to come back. Can't help but feel guilty."

"Well, at least you got to save the world in the process. What did I do? Probably just confuse the hell out of some archaeologists out there," Myra said with a chuckle. Surprisingly it drew a laugh from Five as he imagined them finding proof of a human's existence with the dinosaurs. Surely Myra had to have left behind some interesting things even if her body and bones wouldn't be there. "You know, out of all the things that were hard to deal with 80 millions years… there were these creatures, you know, early ancestors of dogs. They looked just like wolves but… they didn't. I can't exactly explain it. It got really hard to get used to the fact that none of these animals knew what humans were and that no matter how hard I tried I would never be able to get any of them to like me. It just wasn't even close to being coded into their brains."

"But can't you…" Five quizzically began. Myra chuckled.

"Ah, so you see my dilemma? It was a constant mental struggle. Do I manipulate the brains of those creatures and possibly affect the timeline of the rest of the world just for some comfort and safety in a world I was likely going to die in, or did I leave the timeline be and make as little impact as possible?" Myra explained.

"I guess I don't envy that. Nothing I did mattered, and at least I had a conscious mannequin to get through mine," Five joked. He'd always appreciate Delores and he thought of her often. At the end of the day he knew that she was a figment of imagination and that the mannequin he'd manifested her personality into wasn't real but in a certain sense, she was real to him. He'd put Delores behind him in Brazil but he'd always hold a soft spot in his heart. After all, the persona he'd created around this mysterious woman had helped him get through the apocalypse. He began to notice that the sun was gone and the snow had only continued to grow and soon they were trudging through knee-deep snow in the middle of nowhere with no warmth in sight.

* * *

"Five, we need to find somewhere to sleep- we won't last out here all night," Myra told Five. She'd resorted to melting the snow in front of them and created a sort of bubble around them with electricity, the energy of which heated the snow and generated a little bit of heat.

"I don't know if we'll find anywhere," Five said to her. Myra closed her eyes. She felt strong and something about keeping the two of them safe only gave her more strength.

"I… I can do this around us while we sleep, I think. I'll just have to meditate and mess with some things," Myra told him. Five looked at her and raised an eyebrow and she smiled, giving him a sassy glare. "It's so easy I can do this in my sleep."

And so, the two found themselves huddling together underneath a pine tree that hung close to the ground. The thick needles hadn't allowed for snow to gather under the tree so they rested on a bed of dead pine needles, hidden from the snow but still frigid. Myra was huddled up against Five's body and they both shivered. Spending so long alone had made Five a _bhor_ any kind of physical contact. He just… he hated it. He'd gotten so used to having none of it that it was his least favorite thing in the world. But now he didn't seem to mind so much. As they huddled together for warmth Myra meditated and soon, a crackling sphere of dim energy began to crackle around them. While Five was still cold he could feel the kinetic energy from the electricity begin to warm the air within the bubble and soon he found he was quite comfortable. "And you think you can do this all night?"

"I know I can," Myra confidently said, her back still pressed against him.

"How much did you work on while I was gone?"

"You might've stopped the apocalypse but that doesn't mean the world still didn't need saving. We still… dad still had us do missions after you guys left. Before Ben nearly died," Myra said, her voice growing softer. She didn't like talking about her father. Five, on the other hand, was still rather impressed of what she was managing to do. It was only then he realized how absolutely exhausted he was. He'd gotten no sleep the night before and now, in the comfort of Myra's bubble and her pressed against him, warming the front of his body he found himself drifting off into a deep, well-needed sleep…


	20. Closer than before

Blood. That's all Five could see. His eyes were clouded with a world of dripping crimson every which way he looked, never-ending oceans of blood- but, the curtain moved and what he saw was even worse than drowning in blood. They were dead, each and every one of them, their bodies mangled and bloodied and torn apart, blood pooling around their bodies and leaking from their mouths and their eyes- Luther, Allison, Diego, Shawn, Sana, Wallace, Klaus, Ben, Vanya- and Myra. Five dropped to his knees as he looked at the grotesque scene before him until he saw Myra pick her head up- she was alive!- but that was impossible from the grotesque appearance of her body- "Do you see what you've done, Five?" Myra asked. Her eyes were missing and the sides of her mouth were torn open, so open.

"You did this to us," Vanya whimpered from where she lay, all of her limbs bent into unnatural angles.

"If only you were better," Klaus sighed as more of his innards spilled out of the gash in his stomach from the slight movement.

"You did this, Five," Myra said, and though she had no eyes she stared into Five's soul and all Five could do was scream- "Five,"

"Five," Myra lightly shook Five awake. He'd started panting and twitching in his sleep which evolved to him murmuring no louder and louder until it woke Myra up- Five shot up and scrambled backwards away from Myra, his eyes and movements frenzied from the nightmare. "It's okay," Myra comforted, reaching out and placing her hand on his knee. "It's just me." Five's breathing began to slow as he recognized that he was awake and it had just been a dream. His eyes focused on Myra's concerned face, and for the first time he truly appreciated the deep blue of her eyes now that they weren't missing…

"I'm sorry, I…" Five said as his breathing slowed. He noticed that the energy field around them had disappeared and the snow around the outside of the low-hanging branches had built up into a wall so he supposed it had acted as insulation of sorts.

"It's okay, it happens to the best of us," Myra comforted with a soft smile.

"How long were we sleeping?" Five inquired as he noticed the light sneaking through the snow wasn't quite as bright as he thought it would be.

"We slept through the day," she told him. Five's shoulders relaxed. He'd caught up on some much needed and now they could begin to travel through the night like he'd been wanting to do. As he leaned against the tree again to recollect his thoughts his stomach growled and he realized how hungry he was. On cue, Myra reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out two sandwiches that were rather smushed and now looked like a messy soup of peanut butter, bread, and marshmallows. A soft smile grew on Five's face. Vanya must've made these.

"This is the best I've got for now," Myra offered, tossing him one of the bags. Five opened it and scooped some of the mess out with his finger, sucking the mixture off and sighing in relief. They sat under the pine tree together, laughing at each other as they tried to eat the messy mixture as graceful as possible which was, quite admittedly, an impossible task.

"I don't even know how you came up with this combination," Myra laughed after she'd swiped some of the mixture straight out of the bag with her tongue, causing Five to nearly choke on a marshmallow. He'd never acted this childlike since, well… since he was a child, and a very small one at that.

"My mind was too advanced for this world," Five laughed.

"That's why you had to leave it for a destroyed Earth, huh?" Myra joked. Five clenched his teeth through the grin and cocked his head.

"Well, that was a cheap shot," Five said. Myra chuckled and then fell silent as she chewed on a particularly solid portion.

"So, are we going to travel at night then, I'm guessing?" Myra inquired.

"It'll probably be for the best," Five responded while in his head he thought God, it was nice not to have the Commission bastards after us. As they sat and finished up the sloppy remnants of the sandwiches Five's mind drifted off to his siblings. He wondered what they were up to, where they'd landed, where they were now. The sickening thought of them being dead or worse, absolutely tortured made him feel incredibly guilty. He should've been able to save them, he should've been able to jump back in time and help them in that moment. He should do it now, really, but he knew that at the end of the day things were going to end up the same and at least in this scenario, he got away safely. He had a gut feeling that they were meant to split up anyways.

Myra shivered across from him and he watched a low blue light flicker around them, sparking some warmth before fading away. Myra closed her eyes; she looked exhausted. "Did you even get any sleep last night?" Five asked.

"Technically, yes, but… keeping your ass warm all night took a lot out of me. Let's hope we don't run into anything or anyone because I'd like to not pass out like someone I know," Myra jested. Five slightly frowned. It would be rather inconvenient for her to not be able to use her powers but he supposed he could defend the two of them and besides, he was rather good at being stealthy and figured it wouldn't be hard to slip by places unseen. They began to stretch the sleep out of their limbs.

"Thanks, by the way," Myra said as she crawled out from underneath the tree, digging a path through the snow.

"For what?"

"Saving me yesterday," Myra thought. She wanted to ask him why he'd saved her and not one of his actual siblings but she bit her tongue. She didn't want to bring up a sore spot as she simply might've been the closest one.

"It's what I do," Five said as he followed behind her and burrowed his way out of the snow. The pair stood up and shook off the snow that had collected on their jackets before glancing around the terrain that looked entirely different with several feet of snow covering it now.

"Shit, it's cold," Myra said, wrapping her arms around herself before creating a small sphere around her and Five as they began to walk in the direction they needed to go. As they walked she periodically turned the electrical shield on and off again in order to conserve as much energy as she could.

"There should be a town up here pretty soon if I'm not mistaken," Five said as they made their way through the trees that gradually began to thin. As they walked, Myra's hands occasionally brushed past Five's and without saying anything they'd bring their hands away but both secretly felt something warm deep and hidden within them at the contact.

* * *

Five's calculations of there being a town nearby had been off, much to Myra's pleasure and Five's annoyance. She'd begun to tease him about messing up the calculations again, forcing them to sleep under another tree or something else they could find to provide shelter from the biting wind. They were moving at a slower pace than Five would've liked as Myra was weary from keeping up a constant shield to protect them from the wind, forcing Five to periodically teleport them through the seemingly endless woods that they were traveling through. Though Five had managed to catch a few squirrels for them to munch on after Myra started a fire their stomachs were growling and they found themselves yearning for more food. Five decided that no matter where they were, he was going to get himself a piping hot cup of coffee and a plate of eggs instead of the charred rodent meat they'd been eating for the past day.

They traveled through the entire night and once the pitch black of night began to give way to the milky lavender haze of dawn they'd decided to settle against an outcropping of rock, once again huddling together as close and comfortably as they could to generate even more heat underneath Myra's shields. They sat in the dark, both still sitting upright as the chattering of their teeth died down. Myra had only just stopped laughing from a ridiculous story about Diego bullying Five when they were younger.

"I don't get it, I mean, he could beat the crap out of Diego, couldn't he?" Myra inquired as the laugh slowly faded away. Five bemusedly shrugged.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you? Guess Five is too good a person to beat up his own brother," Five remarked. Myra scoffed.

"It should be the opposite. You should see the crap my brothers pull on each other." They fell into a long period of silence as both of their minds wandered. Speaking of her brothers, Myra's stomach twisted with anxiety. She'd no clue where the hell they were and if they were even alive at all. She hated the fact that Seus could've sent them anywhere and she'd have no way of knowing. If he sent them back to where he'd sent her then they could die there in days, in years, maybe even a lifetime but without Seus, there was no way they were coming back from that alive. "I miss them. My brothers. And Sana, you know. We all fought, but… they're my best friends," Myra softly spoke, leaning a little further into Five.

"I miss my family, too. I've spent most of my years without them, so I guess it just makes you appreciate them more," Five remarked. Myra nodded before asking a curious question.

"Who'd you miss the most?"

"Well, that doesn't seem fair-"

"Well, I guess I'm just asking if you had to pick a favorite, who would it be? Like, if you were a kid again and could pick one sibling to spend a day with," Myra asked. Five sighed and he furrowed his brows as he wanted to jump into thought but the name formed on his tongue and he was speaking before he really even knew why that was the right answer.

"Vanya," Five breathed. "When I was a kid, I wasn't exactly, you know, humble. I knew I was better than everyone else, better than my siblings. They knew it, too, which is why they got jealous pretty quickly. I loved them and they loved me but it was hard, sometimes. I wasn't exactly the nicest kid either so I tended to spend my time alone, because- and don't laugh- I thought they were beneath me. Except for Vanya. She never tried to be anything she wasn't. She accepted her place and I guess there's something to be admired in that kind of humility." Myra nodded. She understood his sentiments and was surprised that her reasoning for her favorite sibling was completely different.

"For me, it's hard to pick one but I guess I'd have to pick Ben. I know our Ben is a lot different from yours, and he seems hard and sarcastic but really, he's a softie, a real teddybear. We always looked out for each other, me and him. He always knew his power was monstrous and ugly and uncontrollable at times but he never acted scared, never backed down. Just kept that straight face on and stayed strong for us even when it was hard to and by all rights, he should've been the one allowed to be scared from time to time. He's always stood up for me. Always. Loyal as hell," Myra sighed. Five didn't say it out loud but her version of Ben didn't seem too different than the child he'd always known- while he'd been so scared to use his power he'd been so stoic and sweet as hell. Five had always thought how unfair it was for Ben to be "The Monster" when he was the kindest soul Five had known. Of course, that Ben was gone and didn't matter now. Ben was alive. As Myra's eyelids grew heavy Five realized she'd laid her head on his shoulder. He didn't mind the contact; in fact, he welcomed it as it provided his neck with more heat.

"If only we knew where we would've ended up," Myra murmured.

"Tell me about it," Five softly sighed, careful as to not shift her head. "You know, sometimes I wonder where you were in the old timeline. What happened to you. What's happening to the other version of me out there."

Myra bit her bottom lip. "About that… Ben and I did some research. It turns out, most of the kids not adopted by dad… well, most of them died. And the ones that didn't are as ordinary as possible."

"So you're saying I'm dead?" Five inquired. Myra sighed; she hadn't wanted to tell him this because she wasn't sure how he'd react.

"We don't really know. You were… you were born in the UK but when you were a teenager you disappeared. It's been a cold case but they locked your mother's boyfriend up for what they think was the murder. They don't really know exactly what happened but it's pretty safe to assume that you're dead."

Five was relieved to hear that information. In fact, he was glad. It gave him nothing to worry about. There wasn't some other teleporting man out there who would be completely different than himself due to his upbringing and possibly dangerous. Now that that thought was out of Five's mind he'd be able to sleep a lot easier. "Do you think if we're able to do this, more will get messed up?"  
  
"Probably, but we don't really have any other choice," Five murmured.

"We can go into hiding. Run away to Brazil, where you were." Five shook his head at that.

"Trouble will find us eventually. It always does." As they sat there with no more words Myra eventually dozed off and the light sounds of her snoring hit his ears. He would've liked to get into a more comfortable position to sleep but found the idea of awaking Myra to be rather unpleasant so he sat with their bodies warming each other, Myra's head nestled into the crook of his neck while the nocturnal forest came to life around them. In this moment, Five as at peace and when he fell asleep he almost wished that he wouldn't wake up. Right now, in this moment, he thought he'd be feeling anxiety and stress over the loss of his family and the horrors looming in the future but he just felt… calm. So, when he began to nod off he didn't at all notice his cheek resting on the top of Myra's head, falling to sleep resting on her.


	21. Leaps

The last thing Ben had wanted was to be split up from all of his siblings let alone stranded with someone who thought her was a completely different person. But, there he was, falling through the air and landing on a soft surface next to Klaus who was caught by unseen forces beside him. Ben groaned as his back hit the ground and knocked the air out of his lungs; he closed his eyes and winced at the impact. When he opened them, the void that had brought them here was nowhere to be seen. Beside the groaning Ben, Klaus was being guided to his feet. "Thanks, but leave," Klaus heard him mutter to whatever had caught him. Ben forced himself to roll over and found his feet inches away from… sand?

"Klaus?" Ben muttered, picking up a handful of the white ground and letting it slide out in between his fingers. "Where the hell are we?"

"Oh, I know this place," Klaus said, spinning around and taking in the view. It was then that Ben heard… seagulls? Squawking above him rather loudly, and he heard… no, it couldn't be. His eyes traveled past Klaus and found a giant expanse of turquoise water stretching out throughout the horizon to unseen lands. He would've thought he was dead if it weren't for the occasional people walking along the shoreline not too far from them, none of them having noticed the two men fall from the sky.

"Where the hell are we?" By now, Ben had collected himself and scrambled to his feet, maintaining his composure as he looked around only to see masses of people along the beach, hotels and palm trees lined up at the edge of the sand.

"Welcome to Florida, Benny!"

* * *

"I missed this place," Klaus said dreamily, smiling at a group of women who frowned and continued to walk by. Ben was walking fast with his arms crossed and his head down. They were far from where they'd started from but he figured that their faces would be on screens and newspapers across the country and it wouldn't be long until somebody recognized them here.

"We need to lay low for a little bit until we can figure out how to get to Seattle," Ben growled to Klaus, grabbing his wrist and dragging him along behind him.

"Seattle- what? Ben, we're in paradise. Fivesy and Myra can take care of it, I'm sure, they won't need us-"

"We are not leaving them to do this by themselves." Ben couldn't leave Myra stranded to face Seus on her own- he wasn't sure what his other siblings would do but he knew that she would relentlessly pursue the man now that she had the determination to- and, hopefully Five. He'd seen Five jump with her right as the attack had begun and he hoped that she'd stayed by his side. Ben barely knew Five but he knew enough about him to trust him with Myra's life. He supposed his brothers and other sister would make for Seattle, or maybe back to the cabin- he wasn't entirely sure but he knew that him and Klaus needed to head for Seattle. They could only hide for so long. While Ben was deep in thought Klaus had dug through a garbage can for a newspaper and he settled on a magazine, sighing in relief as he saw the appropriate date on the cover. So they, at least, were simply transported elsewhere instead of back in the past this time. Though, this raised a red flag for him. Why hadn't Seus just brought them to him, or dropped them into the past as he had Myra?

"How do you suggest getting from Florida to Seattle and finding our scattered family let alone do it all unnoticed?" Klaus challenged as he caught up with Ben.

"Well, we'll figure that part out when we get to Seattle. For now, let's maybe focus a little on the unnoticed part, okay?" Ben said as he ducked his head low. Klaus took the hint and lowered his head, trying to look inconspicuous but only acting and moving more strangely than he'd been before. Ben sighed; this was going to be a long trip.

* * *

Five looked smugly at Myra over the top of the bush they were peering over, staring at the small, cozy-looking diner with an "I told you so look" plastered on his face. She didn't make any noises and clenched her mouth together in order to keep herself from snapping out him but she couldn't help but be glad that he'd been right. There was an incredibly tiny village on the outskirts of the next city and they were looking at a remote diner that couldn't have sat more than ten people. Five theorized that the village, been so far from the city and so small, might not recognize Myra and Five right away. They needed actual food instead of charred rabbits and melted snow-water, especially if Myra was to keep this up. Keeping them warm while they'd trudged through the snow was incredibly draining on her and more than a few times she found Five's arm around her shoulder to keep her moving forward. If she got a good, hearty meal in her she knew she'd feel immensely better. "We get in, eat, and get the hell out of there."

"Do you have money?" Myra immediately asked.

"Wha-"

"Well, the man's always supposed to pay, you know," Myra said with a smirk on her face. Five's cheeks slightly reddened but he didn't answer her question. He shook his head and gritted his teeth. He could never understand why his siblings didn't take things so seriously and now Myra was acting the same way. A shame, really. The thought of a hot cup of coffee was so alluring to him that he nodded before grabbing Myra's arm and jumping directly in front of the diner's doors once he knew that nobody was around to see. She gasped a little in surprise. She still hadn't gotten used to the strange feeling of the teleportation but she supposed she would have to. Five pushed the door open and smiled only to find a sign that told them to seat themselves. "Over here," Myra said in a hushed voice, leading him over to a table situated in a corner where they could see anyone entering but it would be hard to see them at first. They slid into the booth and both hunched down a little. Myra realized her mouth was watering at the prospect of warm waffles dripping with butter…

"Hey there," a voice greeted them. The waitress set two glasses of water down on the table.

"Cup of coffee, black," Five said, not giving her a chance to say anything else. Myra shot him a glance and smiled kindly at the girl standing in front of them.

"Scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes if you have them, please- just all of the breakfast foods, I'm starving," Myra asked sweetly.

"Sure thing, sugar," the waitress responded before retreating back to the kitchen with a confused look on her face. Five crossed his arms on the table and stared at Myra. She was interesting, that's for sure. He slightly frowned as his eyes traveled over the circles under her eyes, the pallor of her skin from the exhaustion and the cold but he noticed that the brightness from her eyes had never faded. Even after all she'd been through, everything that had happened in the past week that had never left. To a certain extent he was entirely surprised she was still alive. After all, Five had at least had the remnants of society and Delores to cling to. She'd had… nothing. Sure, she'd had more living creatures than he'd been blessed with but he couldn't decide if living a life alongside some of Earth's most dangerous predators was better than living without any other living creature at all.

"So when we get there, what are we going to do?" Myra asked. Five's cheeks began to burn as he glanced away, realizing he'd been studying her face with interest for far too long. He was glad he didn't have to feel guilty about being around her as she was roughly the same age in spirit as him. "It's not like us two can take him on by ourselves. We have to find a way to get everyone else back." Five nodded and furrowed his brows. He knew of something that might work but it seemed far too risky… Myra, seemingly reading his mind, continued to talk. "I know…well, can't you just jump back in time, grab them, and then bring them here?"  
  
Five shook his head. "It's not that simple. This is a very… delicate, so to speak, situation. One small change from the past could completely change everything right now. For the better, for the worse, I don't know but we can't take any chances risking the latter. Plus, I can't mess the calculations up. Not again. I can never seem to get them right."

"Say we mull it over for a few days and try to get the math right-"

"Myra, I've mulled over the math for fifty years in the past and still ended up in a thirteen year old's body," Five dryly said with a sigh.

"But you didn't have me in the past." Five couldn't argue with that. As intelligent as he was and as far above everyone else he placed himself in terms of intelligence he couldn't help but realize that Reginald's other Number Five shared the same qualities. He wondered if it was a strange coincidence or if Reginald had something deeper at play but those were questions he could investigate after he saved the world for a third time. Before he could continue to conversation he spotted the waitress making her way over way one hand supporting a delicately balanced tray in one hand and somehow carrying a water and a cup of coffee in the other. When she placed all of the food on the table in front of them the delightful scents wafted into their noses and they both stared rather ravenously at the mountain of food the waitress seemed to have known they needed. More importantly, Five eyed the coffee she set down with great eagerness. It had been a hot minute since he'd had a good cup and he was so looking forward to the hole the caffeine would fill. "Enjoy yourselves, you too," the waitress smoothly said with a wink before walking away. Five slid the mug of steaming brown liquid in front of him while Myra unrolled her silverware and immediately attacked the light, buttery stack of pancakes in the center of one of the plates. As she slid the food off of her fork she closed her eyes and let out a satisfied moan.

"Oh my god this is amazing," she said as she quickly chewed and swallowed the bite. Five took a sip of the bitter liquid and noted how low quality it would've ordinarily tasted to him but right now it tasted like liquid gold. Across from him, Myra grabbed a piece of bacon and brought it to her lips, but she pulled it away when she began to cough. Five thought nothing of it, she'd likely hadn't chewed the pancake well enough or perhaps swallowed something rather awkwardly. Though, it was when she continued to cough and a confused look grew on her face when Five noticed and began to grow concerned.

"You alright?" Five asked, setting his cup down as Myra continued to cough for whatever reason. She didn't stop and dropped the bacon on the table, and Five rose to his feet when she reached her hand to her throat and grasped at it. She'd now stopped coughing and was just simply gasping for air but nothing was coming in and nothing was going out- a frenzied look grew in her eyes as her chest began to burn from the lack of oxygen. Something was completely preventing her from breathing; it felt as though her throat had closed up and someone was choking her all at the same time. In that moment she felt as though she was going to die and her vision began to blur. She was so panicked she didn't notice Five jumping out of the booth across from her, reaching for her.

Five's real panic began when he saw the foam begin to emerge from her mouth, a disgusting off-white color produced by… he glanced down at the food on the plates and then back over to the kitchen where he saw two hefty line cooks standing with their arms crossed in front of the waitress who was on the phone with a terrified look on her face. As all of that was going on he heard the faint sound of police sirens in the distance and everything began to click into place- they'd been recognized and the kitchen had poisoned the food, but not the coffee, much to his advantage. As he began to realize everything he whipped around back to Myra and grabbed her arm as she fell backwards onto the booth, her chest no longer moving as foam continued to seep out of her mouth, her face a horrible color from the lack of air- Five closed his eyes and took a deep breath- there's only one thing he could do. His entire body began to glow and around him he saw everything slow down until it came to a complete stop and he grabbed Myra's arm as she sat up in the seat in reverse, the foam piling back into her mouth as she struggled to breath as her body traveled backwards in time.

He dragged her struggling body away from the seat and though it took every ounce of strength he began to tug her through the restaurant, watching all the patrons perform their actions in reverse. He felt as though he was running through jello and it took all of the willpower he had to keep dragging Myra whose hand was now at her throat as it had been when she'd first started choking. Five put his shoulder down and jumped through the door with Myra in tow and he continued to focus on traveling backwards, only a few more seconds. He was so sore and his muscles were aching and his lungs were screaming- it had been so long since he'd done this with someone else- and it only took him seeing Myra take a piece of pancake out of her mouth and dropping it onto the ground of the parking lot before he focused on leaving the oblivion they were in. He burst into another bright flash of light and everything in the world around them came back to normal life with loud noises. Five bent over with one hand on his knee, the other still gripped so tightly around Myra's arm that his fingers were white as she looked around in confusion- hadn't she just been in the diner a second ago? "Five, what-"  
  
Sirens began to sound in the distance and Five, still gripping Myra's arm, twitched and they found themselves back in the forest across the road from the diner. "We have to go, now," he said, jumping them one more time a decent ways from where they'd been standing before. He broke into a run through the woods to get away from the treeline, to get as far out of sight as possible. Myra sprinted beside him, confused all the while but too focused on running and dodging through the trees and low-hanging branches. They continued to run for far longer than Myra would've liked but not long enough to Five's content before Myra grabbed Five's shoulder and stopped him. "We're far enough," she said, panting. "We'll be alright for now. Five… what the hell happened?"

Five leaned against a tree as he caught his breath. "You just died."

"What?" Myra said incredulously, raising an eyebrow. Clearly she didn't- they'd been staring at their food one moment and the next, Five was dragging her across the forest.

"The waitress, the cooks- they poisoned they food. They had to have known who we were- you died and the cops were on their way. They knew us. They knew we were there," Five said with anguish in his voice. There was no way they'd be able to go into civilization without being seen. Myra, however, was still reeling with the fact that she'd died. Not only had she died but it had been so easy for them to kill her… how had she not been more careful? If Five hadn't been there- anxiety welled in her chest when she realized that her siblings didn't have Five. If they died, they'd be gone for good.

Five stared at Myra as they both caught their breaths before looking down and staring long and hard at the ground. He'd just watched her die. The image of her twitching and foaming at the mouth while she stopped breathing was such a gruesome sight he knew that it would join the images of his dead siblings in the rubble of the apocalypse, the sight of them watching nukes fall down onto the Earth, the memories of their bodies being torn apart by the Handler's bullets as they lay dying on the ground in that barn, gasping for air- another person he'd failed to protect. As always she'd been saved in the end but Five was never able to protect those he loved from death and he would always be the only one to suffer from it. Always. They would never experience their deaths but Five, Five had to experience them in order to save them. And that was something that would never change. And though Five had sworn to himself that his family would be the most important above all, that he'd care for nobody else on that level or make those kind of sacrifices but in that exact moment Five realized that he cared for Myra just as much as he did his own family.


	22. History

"LUTHER!" Allison screamed as the two were ripped from their feet. She was wrenched away from Luther and she reached out to his muscular arms, the tips of their fingertips brushing as they both reached through each other as the black void brought them into it's dark grasp- but just as their fingertips touched they were swallowed and Allison found herself being spit out of the stomach. She was hurtling towards the ground, the clear and vivid blue sky above her and she braced herself for impact when she felt a cradle of arms catching her. "What the hell?" She murmured as the arms that had caught her lifted her onto her feet. She just caught a glimpse of the void blinking out of existence before she turned around just in time to see the clones of Shawn retreating back into his body.

"You're _welcome,"_ Shawn smirked.

"I think we have bigger problems than the lack of my politeness," Allison said, peering past Shawn. Similarly, Shawn peered past her. In both ways and on either side of them they were met with the same scenery: rows of corn after rows of corn after rows of corn. _Of course,_ Allison thought to herself. She recognized Seus's power.

"It's a little bit ironic that the two whose powers revolve around manipulating people's minds are thrown in the middle of _nowhere,"_ Sean scoffed, shaking his head.

"You took the words right from my mouth," Allison replied. She had no idea where they were going but she knew that finding her siblings in this mess was going to be one _hell_ of a job.

* * *

"I don't know if I can take another night of this, Five. We've barely eaten," Myra said, leaning heavily against Five as they trudged through the snow. When they'd escaped into the woods from the diner it had begun to snow and it hadn't relented; in fact, it had been the opposite. Between forging a path through the snow for the two of them and supporting Myra as they walked he was happy with how much the labor he'd done for the village in Brazil had toned and refined his muscles. He certainly needed them now. He'd kept them traveling deep through the woods and figured they'd have to try and skirt around civilization. It would take them longer to get to Seattle but they'd have way less risk of being seen and recognized by any one. It was the only way. It seemed as though both Seus and the government had made it _very_ clear to the public who they were. At one point, Five had teleported close to a town just for a few moments to spy on some things and had spotted images of the Umbrellas and the Sparrows flashing across a TV screen. Things were _not_ looking good for them but Five wasn't sure if they could spare the time Myra would need to recharge. They certainly needed her at night or else they'd freeze to death. He didn't know what to say to her. They needed her but she was clearly drained from keeping up a constant field of electricity for the past five days. The snow only continued to fall harder and harder until they couldn't even see two feet in front of them, nearly running into trees and clinging on to each other in fear of losing sight of one another.

As expected, the images of Myra's gruesome death hadn't left his mind and he'd barely slept the past few days. If he did, he knew the scene would haunt him so he resorted to taking small naps and periodically waking up to check and see if Myra, was in fact, still alive.

"Only a little bit longer," Five reassured her, putting his arm around her shoulder and rubbing it in comfort. He opened his mouth to offer some more words of advice before as if on cue, something emerged through the trees in front of them. Five teleported them behind a thick oak tree and Five peered around the tree hesitantly to look at the log cabin that had seemingly materialized out of nowhere in the middle of the forest. His stomach churned when he saw an elderly woman hobbling through the snow towards them but she didn't seem to be struggling as much as a woman her age should- he nearly fainted when she began to speak.

"Children, I can see you, you know. Come in, my dears, _please._ I don't bite," the woman said with a laugh, looking eagerly at Five. _Yea, right,_ Five scoffed inside his head.

"How do we know if we can trust her?" Myra asked Five.

"We can't," Five whispered back. His hands lit up as he prepared a rather lengthy jump for the two of him before the woman's voice called out again.

"Five, Myra. You children can trust me. Consider me a… friend, of your fathers." Now _that_ piqued his and Myra's interest but still, Five knew that he shouldn't bite the bait. He couldn't trust anyone besides Myra right now. Myra sensed Five's hesitancy as he didn't respond to the woman and Five noticed the shield around them fade and disappear and as he was distracted Myra slipped out from behind the tree on the other side, reaching her hand up and closing her eyes. She raced through the impulses of the woman's mind for what looked like two seconds to Five but felt like _years_ to Myra as she searched for the information she needed. Myra's head snapped back to Five, her eyes glowing brighter blue but fading away as her powers did. She simply nodded at Five. "She's telling the truth. She wants to keep us hidden, I saw it."

Five sighed. He supposed Seus would know a way around Myra's powers but this woman, the cabin in the middle of nowhere… he looked between Myra and the woman who was now looking at them with a gentle and almost pitiful look. It was a choice between freezing to death outside at night or getting caught by Seus with the chance of escape. _You can't save them if you're dead,_ Hazel's voice rang in his head. Five stepped out from behind the tree and put his arm around Myra before teleporting the two of them next to the woman who let out a soft smile and grabbed Myra's hand while she lead them back to her house.

* * *

"It's been a while since I've had any visitors," the woman said in her croaky tone as she searched through her cabinets for two extra mugs for the incredible smelling coffee she'd just brewed. Five was eager. He glanced over to the woman's couch to ensure that Myra was alright and he was relieved to see that she was in a deep and well-needed sleep, swaddled in blankets and her head on the end of the couch nearest to the fire. She'd passed out right after she'd laid her head on the couch and Five and the woman had taken great care to warm her up and get her comfortable.

"Well, your hospitality surely doesn't need practice," Five remarked. The woman chuckled and shook her head. He watched her prepare food for him with a suspicious look on his face. Even though he trusted Myra's judgement this seemed… off. What did she want? And, there was still something more pressing on hand. "How did you know who I was?"

"As I said, Five, I knew your father. A friend, at one time, but that title is not the one he departed from me as. Regardless, just because he's not written in this chapter of my story doesn't mean that he was never important to the book that is my life," the woman wisely said. Five chewed over her words.  
  
"That still doesn't answer the question of how you knew _me._ But why don't we start with how you knew _him_?" Five inquired. The woman turned around and placed a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a plate with some sort of homemade pastry on the table in front of him before pulling out a chair across from the small wooden kitchen table and settling herself on it with a few sighs and loud exhales.

"Well, ordinarily I would feed you the excuse that it's a long and complicated tale but seeing as this storm won't end until the morning I suppose we have enough time, do we not?" Five leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms as he suspiciously stared at the old woman. She sighed at his lack of response and continued to talk, settling herself comfortably for the story she was about to reveal. In fact, it was the first time she'd told anybody this story at all and even after all these years she found herself slightly nervous. "I was born as the oldest child out of two. Coincidentally I was born in the same neighborhood your father was from- but he doesn't come into play much later in the story. My younger sister was only two years younger than me but we were two peas in a pod. She was my best friend, my world, my everything. We loved each other, Gracie and I," a wistful look grew on the woman's face and a small, sad smile developed on her face in thought as the gears in Five's brain begin to whir… the woman laughed before Five could say anything. "Yes, Grace was my little sister, and I loved her more than anything. I would've died for her."

Five himself had never met the woman who Reginald had modeled their android mother after but Diego had, and he wondered if Diego would come into play in this story.

"Growing up we were like twins- people never knew that I was two years older. But, as we got older, Gracie grew and she grew _fabulously._ Every boy chased after her when we were children and when we grew to be teenagers they were falling head over heels for her, asking her to school dances, taking her for joyrides in their parents' fancy cars. We had the best of times with those boys pining after her- always her, never me. I was always an afterthought but I loved Gracie so much that I was okay with that. She really did deserve it, after all, as gorgeous and sweet as she was- but so fierce! Not a single negative word was ever said about me in Grace's presence. As we grew, I began to feel more and more like the little sister," the woman chuckled, taking a sip out of her cup of tea. "Even with all of the attention Gracie remained so focused on her goal and her education. She wanted _so badly_ to work in a zoo. She loved animals, Gracie did. No suitor, no matter how charming or handsome, was ever able to capture Gracie's attention. Except for one."

"The day after she turned twenty-two and graduated from her college a suitor she couldn't turn away from swept her off of her feet with his charm and his most fantastic job offer. Gracie never had much of an eye for boys- we always joked that her, the prettiest girl in town, would end up a spinster- until Reginald came around. I'd never seen Gracie act that way before. She was completely head over heels for your father, only had eyes for him. At first I was jealous of the attention he received from Gracie but in time, I learned to appreciate it and be happy for her rather than resent it. After all, I'd lived my entire life in her shadow- she was prettier, smarter, kinder, everything a girl would want to be- but she was always my little sister and she'd always meant the world to me. So, I watched from the sidelines as your father and Grace fell in love. I never had the heart to tell Gracie how I got strange vibes from Reginald. I always thought I was being paranoid, but he proved all of us wrong in the end. She was so in love with him I couldn't bear the idea of getting into a fight with her just because something I felt about the man of her dreams felt _weird._ So, I stood by and stood next to her as she married Reginald, worked on chimpanzees and other animals in his labs, lived a spectacular life. She never let me stray far, though. Gracie loved me maybe just as much as I loved her if not more." Five listened with intent eyes as he savored the pastry and the coffee the woman had given him, enjoying every bite but the story was too intriguing for him to focus much on the food. He'd never heard this story and he wondered where he'd come into play- after all, while Myra was from this timeline he was _not_ and in theory, nobody here should know who he is.

"Over time Gracie become more and more enveloped in her work- especially with Pogo when he first came into her possession. She loved Pogo more than life itself and I began to see less and less of her. It was a dark time in my life, really. I'd lived so much of my life with Gracie at my hip that without her I felt as though I was nothing. Until Harold came around," the woman let out a sweet sigh as she spoke. "The only man to ever see _me,_ to see me and not Gracie, to love me for who I was. If soulmates are real then Harold was mine. He raised me from the hole I'd been in and changed my life- I was healed. I had gotten everything I'd needed in life. So, when Gracie showed up on my doorstep in the middle of the night a sobbing mess, you could say that I was concerned."

"She'd found out that Reginald was tied up in things too scary for her to comprehend and as much as she loved him she couldn't stay with him. Harold and I took her into our house with loving and protective arms. I'd never seen Gracie such an utter mess. When a letter came to our house from Reginald asking Grace to hear him out over supper a few months after she left him, I didn't want her to go. I nearly didn't let her out of the house but Harold talked some sense into me and talked me into letting Gracie go as long as I went with her. We went to Reginald's house to meet him for supper, and it turns out… Reginald _did_ love Grace. He loved her dearly and he so desperately wanted her back- but Gracie made him promise that there'd be no more lies and no more deception for her to even _consider_ it. I still remember the way Pogo jumped into Gracie's arms." The woman let out a chuckle.

"Reginald disclosed nearly everything to us. He told us about the things he'd been involved in and the things he was planning- none of it important, though. He had a specific date in mind- October 1, 1989."

"He told us everything- about how you guys appeared to him claiming to be his children born on that date- begged him to take you back, that you all displayed supernatural and otherworldly powers- it all sounded so absurd, it really did. I didn't know what to believe and neither did Gracie- he gave her a few days to mull it over when he told her he wanted to adopt as many children from that day as possible. We came back and when I finally got Gracie to sleep that night I woke up to find her gone. Her body was found in a river five days later."

"Did she…?" Five asked, raising an eyebrow. The woman nodded her head.

"It was of her own will. She left me a note with our secret phrase- our phrase that we'd never told another soul so we'd know the other wasn't lying." Tears began to form in the woman's eyes. "I miss Gracie every day of my life but I still had Harold. I didn't know what to believe. He was the only thing I had left. When October 1, 1989 came around Reginald invited me to his house to see the children. I couldn't bring myself to do it. And then a few years later he invited me back around to see… to see what he'd created. That thing is not my sister. But it talked, looked, acted just like her… it was so difficult. But Harold was there for me, always. And when he died two nights ago… I couldn't hold on anymore, I just couldn't do it. But then you and Myra showed up on my doorstep- I'd been keeping tabs on the Sparrow Academy and I saw you teleport, and from Reginald had told us about you and your family I knew it had to be you. And deep down inside of me I knew that Gracie and Harold would've wanted me to help you."

"I- I don't know what to say…" Five said, his voice trailing off when he realized he'd never gotten the woman's name.

"I'm Hana," the woman said softly, a sad smile on her face. "Your faces are everywhere, you really ought to be careful."

"Hana, from the bottom of my heart, _thank you."_ While he knew that Grace wasn't his real mother he couldn't help but be saddened that the woman his android mother had been modeled after had committed suicide when faced with the reality of Reginald's life. Hana and Grace were just two more people in the network of persons that Sir Reginald Hargreeves had wronged.


	23. Sacrifices

Sana hated using her powers in fights like this.

The plants that so lovingly obeyed what she wanted them to do were always torn apart by bullets, blown to pieces by explosions, burnt to a crisp by fire. But, the plants made Sana who she was. They might've been torn apart by bullets, burnt to a crisp, but even the tiniest piece could settle somewhere and sprout into the most magnificent tree you'd ever see. She often compared herself to the life she controlled, the tiniest piece of her hope and strength could cling onto existence and pull through into some spectacular- nonetheless, she couldn't help but feel guilty every time she watched something green destroyed by yet another mess her and her family had caused.

What she'd failed to notice in the fight among the hell scape that had once been the club was a soldier clawing his way across the ground behind her, legs shattered to bits due to Vanya's powers but nonetheless crawling towards Sana with determination- Sana turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder yank her backwards and her eyes met the sharp face of a blonde man with defined features. Wooden vines wrapped around her fist, forming sharp spears of wood and she pulled her fist back to punch the man in the face but as she brought it forward he grabbed her arm, stopping her and cocking his head slightly while his eyes narrowed. Instead of attacking Sana she was entirely surprised when he began to drag her backwards. "Stop it- who are you?" Sana screamed. The man didn't reply as he dragged her through the club and he simply pointed over his shoulder- when Sana turned she saw the beginning of Seus's familiar powers beginning to form over the club.

"Shit." The man broke into a sprint and so did she. She didn't know who he was or why he'd been helping her but in the heat of the moment she knew that she couldn't let herself be captured by Seus so she continued to run directly behind the man and it began to grow harder and harder for her to run as the void reached for them, so desperately wanting to take them in- he turned around and grabbed Sana hard and dove behind a nearby building. Sana crashed onto the ground and it had hurt but the void had stopped pulling at her. Her and the man lay on the ground panting and she looked at him. He still remained wordless and stared at her with beady eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

* * *

Five and Hana had spent hours chatting over the table. Five found himself enjoying hearing more about Gracie and strangely, found himself eager to hear more about what Reginald had been like when he was younger. He'd never understood how the cruel man had had friends but according to Hana he had been incredibly charming, especially to woo Grace. Though, he was admittedly horrified to hear Hana talk about how much they'd already been villainized within the country and how much propaganda was being churned out to illustrate them as criminals. Hana knew the children had done nothing wrong, she could see through Seus's façade but there was nothing that could be done about it. Based on what Hana had told him Five figured it would be nearly impossible to continue on and deep down, though he didn't want to think about it, he knew that if his siblings and friends were out there then there was little chance of them not getting caught. Still, Hana continued to have hope for them and urged him to have it as well. They were the only hope the country had left and the only people in the entire world that could face Seus with any sort of chance of victory. Five had been horrified to learn that Hana and Harold had had a child together not too much younger than themselves who'd been killed by Seus's lackeys when he spoke against him. He felt terrible that they'd come to her doorstep only two days after Harold had died, as well, but she continued to remind him that they'd come to her at a time that they both needed someone to be there for them. This woman had been through a lot in her life and Five felt guilty that even through all of it she was so kind and helpful.

"You can sleep in Steven's room if you'd like," Hana offered as the two stood up from the table after deciding that they needed to get sleep. Five wanted to leave the next evening and get as much rest as he could because he was sure they had some restless nights and days ahead of them. Hana reassured him that they were safe here, at least for the night and the next day. Five looked at Hana and then he looked at Myra who was still out cold on the couch underneath her mound of blankets. As much as the thought of a warm, comfortable bed sounded to him… he didn't want Myra to wake up frightened and not know where she was. And he couldn't bear the thought of for some god-awful reason Seus finding out where they were and the house being attacked while she was down here by herself.

"I think I'll sleep in front of the fireplace," Five said. Hana nodded.

"Alright, there's plenty of blankets and pillows. Please don't sneak out on me, I'd like to see you children off," Hana said. Five gave her a smile and a nod before the woman headed upstairs. Five set on making as comfortable a bed as possible on the floor next to the couch before settling in. On top of the assortment of blankets and pillows and underneath a shroud of warmth he sighed but he couldn't help but notice that his eyes had wandered over to Myra's sleeping face. She was snoring lightly. He wondered what she was dreaming about, if she was dreaming at all. Perhaps her forays with the dinosaurs, maybe her childhood with her siblings, maybe something completely insane and nonsensical, or maybe… maybe she was dreaming about him.

* * *

He was shaking her shoulders but she wasn't moving. "Myra!" Five shouted as he frantically attempted to get any sort of response. The lights in the diner were flickering and Five moved his hands to her chest, pressing so hard to get her heart to start that some of her ribs began to crack. The pushing on her chest only caused more foam to seep from her mouth and her arm fell limply off of the booth, her blank eyes staring off in an endless slumber. "Myra!" Five shouted once more in a blind panic. What could he do, what could he do? He lifted his hands and clenched his fists but they only let out a dim blue glow before it disappeared. He tried it once more- "Dammit!" - to no avail. His arms fell to his sides dejectedly and he whipped around only to see the waitress but instead of the young woman he thought it had been it was the Handler in the diner uniform, Cha-cha and one of the Swedes on either side of her. "What are you going to do now, Five? You're the last one left. Come with me and we can figure something out." The Handler held out her hand as the sirens rang in his ears, splitting his head in half, Myra still dead in the booth-

"Five," Myra whispered. Nearly every time they fallen asleep, Myra was woken up by Five's twitches and murmurs. She pitied him; he never seemed to have any real sleep. Always so restless, so anxious. She wasn't jealous of the nightmares that plagued him seemingly every night. Though, this time she was woken by the sound of Hana moving around the house and preparing them breakfast. She'd had a nice chat with the woman before Five had cried out in his sleep and now here she was, kneeling on the ground next to him. "Five," she murmured once more, gently gripping his shoulder and wiping some of the sweat off of his forehead. At the touch of her hand his eyes flew open and he reached up to defensively grab her arm. He clenched so hard it hurt but she didn't mind. When he realized who it was his grip relaxed and he sighed.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, trying to shake the fog of sleep and the anxiety from the nightmare from his mind.

"We need to get going. Hana thinks people have been watching the house," Myra said to him.

"Naturally," Five responded, sitting up and pushing the blankets off of him. He stretched his arms wide and yawned. Even though his dreams had been plagued with nightmares all night he had to admit it was the best sleep he'd gotten since leaving Brazil and likely the best he'd get since this entire ordeal was over. The scent of freshly-brewed coffee hit his nose, causing him to immediately get up and follow Myra over to the wooden table where Hana was already setting plates of scrambled eggs and sausage next to cups of coffee. "You didn't have to do this, Hana.

"It's my treat, really," Hana softly said. Five thought it was strange that she was dressed so nicely right now, even for company it seemed a bit too formal. He paid no mind to the detail and took a seat in one of the chairs before diving into the food. Considering they'd missed out on their meal in the diner, Myra and Five scarfed down the food in record time, moaning in thanks the entire time due to Hana's splendid cooking. She sat with a wistful smile on her face as she watched the two hit, sipping on her tea all the while. Before long, Hana began to talk to them through the sounds of them eating. "You two really ought to get going soon. So deep in the woods I rarely see anyone but I've been catching glimpses of faces hiding behind trees all day- I think they know you're here and pretty soon I expect I'll have people knocking on my door." Five glanced around and noticed that all of the curtains were drawn and there was no way for them to see into the house. He wondered if Hana had divulged all of her secrets to Myra when she'd woken up but he assumed not. "If I were you guys I'd travel a little further north before heading in a straight line to the west- if you stick to the north you'll hit a lot less people and you guys can't really afford to be seen right now. We have some winter coats you guys can use and some old hats and gloves and boots- really, the whole nine yards. Trust me, you'll be needing it. And Five, I already showed Myra, but I filled Harold and Steve's old backpacks with some food and supplies."

"Hana, you didn't have to-" Five began, setting his coffee down and shaking his head but she reached her arm out and laid a warm hand on his wrist.

"I insist." Five looked into her eyes and knew he couldn't argue. For as much as she'd disliked Reginald he wondered why she was so insistent on helping them. He supposed she must've pitied them for being raised under such a man but in Myra's case, Reginald had seemed to be a good enough father.

* * *

Sooner than Myra would've liked she found herself being bundled up by Hana in Hana's winter coat, mittens and a glove being nearly forced onto her and Five before being saddled with the backpacks and their feet shoved into boots. She'd even been kind enough to wrap up some blankets into rolls and tie them to their backpacks- she was really feeling confident now but both of them couldn't help but feel horribly guilty for the kindness they were receiving and in return they could give… nothing. Hana kept insisting that taking Seus down was all she cared about but Five had suspicions of other motives. "You'll have to jump rather far, dear. I'll distract them the moment you do," Hana said as she stared at the pair who were ready to depart the house. Hana enveloped Myra in a tight hug and closed her eyes as they embraced. "Be safe, and be careful."

She let go of Myra who looked at the woman with a bittersweet expression. She had a feeling they'd never meet again. When Hana moved to hug Five, she murmured, "Take care of her."

"Why are you doing this?" Five murmured back into Hana's ear. Hana let go of him and held onto his shoulders, holding him a foot away from her face.

"A promise to an old friend." But wait… Five had heard that before. His heart sunk when it clicked into place what Hana was going to do in order for them to escape. He couldn't stop her. That's why she'd been dressed so nice, that's why she was giving away all of her stuff. He furrowed his brows. It was likely the only way for the pair to have enough time and distraction to escape. Hana was old, and everyone she loved was gone. It saddened Five to see things go this way but in the end, he understood her decision.

"Hana… thank you. I'm sure they would be proud," Five said before taking a step back. Myra looked at Five with confusion on her face before Hana laid loving eyes on them one last time. She wistfully watched as they blinked out of existence with a bright blue flash. Once they'd disappeared Hana sighed and turned around to face the front door of her house, sliding the remote she'd concealed in the pocket of her dress into her hand. Next to the door was a portrait of her, Harold, and Steve when Steve had been a child and Hana and Harold had still been young and full of hope. She brushed her fingertips along the painting and traced the outlines of Harold and Steve with a smile on her face. So full of love. "I'll see you soon, darlings."

Hana grabbed the door handle and opened the door, bracing herself for what was to come.

* * *

When Five and Myra reappeared several hundred yards from the house, they turned around just in time to see the house burst into a bright flash of orange and yellow, a deafening boom hitting their ears and nearly knocking them to the ground. Myra opened her mouth to scream but Five wrapped around her body from behind her and plastered his hand to her mouth, ducking behind a tree after the explosion happened and listening to a wave of gunfire emerge from the trees around the house, pelting the structure to ensure that nothing living was getting out of the fiery hell alive. "Shhhh," Five said as Myra panicked. She soon calmed and broke herself from Five's grasp, staring back at him wildly. Before she could make a noise Five grabbed her arm and jumped several hundred more yards into the tree, the fire barely visible at this distance. "Five, we have to go back, we have to help her!"

"She's gone."

"Did you know?" Myra asked, taking a step back. Five sighed.

"It's what she wanted. She wanted to sacrifice herself so we could escape. Don't waste it. Don't let her life be nothing." Myra stared at Five angrily but his words resonated within her. If it was what Hana had wanted, so be it. They turned around and began to walk at a swift pace away, Five jumping them a couple hundred yards every few seconds. The more she talked about it the more she understood the decision and the more she agreed with Five on letting it happen. Still, she couldn't help but feel guilty that they'd gotten out of this alive and she hadn't. Beside her, Five was pained but also felt bittersweet at knowing that Grace's sister had found peace. As the pair made their way, Hana's words kept resonating within Five's mind. Take care of her.


	24. Knives

Wallace was spit out from the void and he was clawing at nothing as he fell through the air- when he hit the ground underneath him he felt the impact absorbed by his body and his nerves tingled with the extra energy- above him he just noticed two more figures being thrown out from the hole before it blinked out of existence. He didn't have time to register the first figure but the second enormous figure was hurtling at him. Any other person, Luther's hulking, falling body would've crushed but Wallace used the energy from the impact and shoved his arms out at just the right time, pushing Luther away from him with ease and Luther rolled onto the ground with a grunt. Vanya happened to land on top of Wallace but the three hundred pound difference only caused Wallace to grunt slightly. He hadn't realized how tiny Vanya was.

The three of them groaned and scrambled away from each other. Wallace remained on the ground, sighing. He came to notice that the ground under him was soft- he felt coarse sand under him and watched as a vulture circled around the trio high in the sky. He knew exactly what had just happened. Meanwhile, Vanya and Luther were scrambling to their feet, looking to the sky for answers but the void was already long gone. "You're not going to find anything up there," Wallace called out in a sing songy voice, tracing circles in the sand with his finger. He had no hope.

"Wallace, was that-" Vanya began, turning back to the man laying on the ground and Wallace nodded.

"Sadly it appears that our little friend found us," Wallace said.

"Well- don't just lay there, we have to find the others!" Luther exclaimed in incredulously. "Allison, Five, Diego- we have to find them!"

"Explain to me how we'll do that, genius," Wallace snarkily replied.

"We just-" Luther said in frustration before Vanya interrupted.

"Guys! I think we have some more pressing issues," Vanya said, prompting Wallace to lift his head and look around while Luther finally began to notice their whereabouts. They were stranded in the middle of an expanse of dry Earth, mountains faintly visible in the distance but no signs of civilization in sight. The landscape was dotted with cacti, small canyons, but overall… nothing.

"Of course he leaves us in the desert. Of course," Wallace murmured where he lay. Vanya listened to the two men begin to argue and she sighed. This was going to be one long walk.

* * *

Myra and Five had made their way deeper and deeper into the woods in a northwest direction like Hana had suggested. Five knew their general whereabouts and he was going to try his best to steer them clear of civilization but that didn't grant total immunity. Myra had explained just how far Seus's reaches were and wouldn't be surprised if the trees were somehow on his side. At first they'd both been somber from what had happened to Hana but their mood lightened as the night went on. "I don't know, I feel like if I could time travel the world wouldn't have even ended the first time," Myra jested, a smile growing on her face. At first, an indignant look appeared on Five's face but when he saw Myra's shit-eating grin he chuckled and shook his head.

"Oh, I'm sure it wouldn't have. I feel like if I could control people's brains then a certain someone wouldn't have rose to power in first place… and I wouldn't have been sent back to live with some overpowered lizards," Five sarcastically responded.

"Low blow. At least I've never been in love with a mannequin- Diego told me all about that," Myra said with a grin.

"Touché," Five said with a laugh, failing to think of a rebuttal. He knew he should be stressed, should be focused on their objective but being around Myra made him feel relaxed. She made him want to laugh. And for that, he was grateful because he sure could use some light-heartedness right now. As if the world could read his mind and decided to do some good for a change, he heard Myra gasp in delight beside him. Without an explanation she rushed forward to the break in the trees ahead of him. Five jumped to the spot she'd been heading towards.

"Not fair," she breathed as she came to a stop beside him. Five turned around and together, they looked upon the small, ice-covered pond. "You like ice skating?" She said, taking a step onto the ice. Five reached out to grab her arm as he said "I wouldn't do that if I were you," but it was too late and she'd placed her foot onto the ice. He winced but to his surprise, the ice didn't groan or crack. She dropped her backpack onto the snow and took a few more hesitant steps forward, tapping the ice with her feet. She continued to the middle but it soon became apparent that the ice was more than thick enough. She began to slide her feet across the ice backwards with a grin on her face. "Come on! I know dad made you guys learn, too."

Five shook his head and cross his arms. "I'm not a child. We need to keep going."

"Come on, Five," Myra groaned dramatically. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

"Jack gets things done," Five snuffed, sticking his nose into the air. Myra shook her head and began to slide around the ice, skating as best as she could in her boots. At one point she decided they were too clunky and took them off, leaving them on the ice as she skated around much more nimbly, albeit coldly, in just her socks. She smiled to herself as she slid around. She needed this little break in reality, the little escape- she just about jumped out of her socks when she noticed a figure next to her. Sliding to a stop she saw that Five had jumped onto the ice next to her and had already removed his boots, delicately placing them next to hers. He hadn't been able to resist. She looked like she was having so much fun and for some reason, Five wanted to share that with her. He'd loosened up in Brazil but reuniting with his family had made him so tense and grown-up again- he wanted to be relaxed like he'd been when he was alone. Like he was when he talked to Myra.

So, he completely caught Myra off guard when he held his hand out to Myra with a smile. She knew how much he didn't like touch- even his family just holding onto him while he teleported seem to make him uncomfortable- so when she looked at him she couldn't help but return the favor and smile back. "Care to skate?" Five said as he extended his hand out to her. She gently placed her hand in his and they immediately began to slide around the ice together, the winter white landscape around them a blur- occasionally, Five would teleport the two of them around for fun which only further drew them closer to one another, laughing the entire time. In that moment, they both forgot everything that had happened, they forgot that their families were scattered and quite possibly dead, they forgot that a supervillain had his claws sunk into the entire country and likely the world, they forgot that the government was after them- nothing mattered. On that small frozen pond, they didn't care. This was their world. And to an extent, the fact that Five was revealing a truly human part of himself, an intimate part of himself that he never seemed to show- she felt relieved, almost. Relieved knowing that he wasn't some robot intent on saving his family no matter what.

Five, on the other hand, simply felt free. As he laughed and slid across the ice with Myra, a part of him was sad at what he'd lost. He'd never had a childhood. He'd never had a normal life. He'd never went to school, got picked on, went to prom, played sports, went to college, found a wife, bought a house, had children, got his own dog- in fact, the most normal part of all of his years were the eight years he spent alone on his little hut in Brazil. Or maybe they were even the years he'd spent as the only human on Earth with a mannequin as his only company. But here, right now, none of that mattered. He was finally beginning to experience what life was about and what life should be about. Not saving the world, not being a hero, but just living in the moment. His laughs and smile were more genuine sliding across that ice with Myra than they'd ever been before. It was something he'd never experienced before.When a loud cracking noise rang in their ears, they were both ripped from their bliss. They both slid to a stop and Myra lost her balance, falling backwards onto the ice. Five had already instinctively jumped onto shore without realizing Myra had slipped from his grasp. As he returned to shore and scanned the ice he watched as Myra fell on the ice and not only did she land on the ice but she fell right through into the water with a large splash, her shout stifled by the water as the ice shattered under her and allowed her to sink-

A thousand knives pierced her body as she hit the frigid water with little warning. She gasped but she was already under the water and she breathed in a mouthful of air- she couldn't move. Her body was, ironically, shocked by the cold- but as soon as she'd fallen into the water she was on the shore, coughing and sputtering up water as she fell to her knees, hand on her chest. Five knelt next to her, hiding the look of immense concern on her face. He couldn't imagine what would've happened if he hadn't been there. As Myra recovered from the nasty shock she heard the sound of laughing. "You idiot!" Five laughed, falling onto his rear as his body shook from laughter.

"Shut up, Five," Myra muttered, entire body shaking as the cold pierced her sopping wet clothes.

"I told you so!" He laughed, shaking his head. As upset Myra was that she was now sopping wet and absolutely frigid… she couldn't help but laugh, too. His laughter was contagious. And seeing him happy made her feel happy, too. So, they sat in the snow together, laughing their asses off at her little mishap, both of their minds full of bliss and oh-so-forgetful of the events in the world from their little fantasy on the ice.

* * *

"Is this _really_ our best option for sleep?" Ben said with a disgusted look on his face as he ventured through the tombstones. Klaus batted of imaginary figures and paused his argument with a rather persistent ghost.

"These are the only people who can't tell on us, Benny," Klaus pleaded as he looked at Ben. Ben groaned and rolled his eyes. Klaus's powers made him so uneasy but he supposed he couldn't really be one to judge. After all, he was called 'The Horror' for a reason. His power even horrified himself at times. After all this time, only Myra knew that Ben still grew nauseous at the sight of blood. Rather ironic considering what he could do. Klaus lead Ben through the cemetery until they came to a small stone building with a name etched on the front-

"Uh-uh, this is where I draw the line. No. Absolutely not," Ben said, firmly planting his feet on the grass and crossing his arms.

"We have to. What other choice do we have?"

"Get arrested, I don't care. I am _not_ sleeping in there," Ben said, refusing to take a step closer. Klaus shook his head and knew his brother would eventually relent. He stepped forward and lifted a hand until some unseen force slid the incredibly heavy stone door to the side. A rush of stale air and dust emerged from the door; the ghosts who'd opened the door for Klaus told him it was the first time this door had been opened in a century. Klaus stepped into the building. "Just get him in here," he mumbled. He was already tired of Ben's crap. This wasn't the same Ben that Klaus knew but he was determined to build a good relationship with him nonetheless.

"What was that? Woah-" Ben let out a shrill shriek as invisible hands began to shove him into the building and he leaned backwards, exposing his chest-

"-that's not gonna do anything, stupid," Klaus sighed with exasperation as he watched the ghosts of the family grunt and shove the unrelenting man closer and closer to the building. Ben's chest lowered a little because he knew Klaus was right but it didn't make it any better than the invisible hands- he lunged forward and stumbled out of their grasps, running through the door out of fear of the ghosts before the door was slowly slid shut by the same grunting family who'd gladly done Klaus's bidding if Klaus promised to pray over the family's tombs and get rid of the family of rats inhabiting the son's casket.

"You're gonna pay for this one day, I swear," Ben grumpily said, sagging to the floor but secretly relieved to finally get some sleep.

* * *

As the night gave way to dawn, Five and Myra had been fortunate enough to find a cave to shelter them from the cold. They'd found that Hana had packed them a very small space heater, but thankfully for them it was electric and it just took Myra one small shock to charge the thing up to full capacity. In the process, because she was still sopping wet, she shorted out a bit and shocked Five, causing him to yelp. Secretly she felt good because he'd laughed at her misery so much until she realized how freezing she was. On their walk they'd gathered some brush from the places where the snow hadn't hit the ground from the shelter of trees and Five pulled out a box of matches, lighting the pile on fire. "We need to dry your clothes," he said matter of factly. Myra stared at him.

"She didn't pack us extra."

"Do you want to freeze to death? Because with wet clothes it's a matter of hours," Five stated, crossing his arms.

"Well I'd rather do that than take my clothes off in front of you."

Five's cheeks reddened but he stood by his position-

"We're both adults here, I don’t see the issue."

"My dignity isn't an issue?" She said. She was joking and Five knew it but she noticed his cheeks were still flushed and he groaned.

" _Fine._ I will so generously go gather wood for the fire while you take your clothes off to dry- wrap yourself in some blankets, I don't know," Five huffed as he crawled out of the cave into the snow to go and find some wood to fuel the fire. The cave was already rather warm with the space heater on alongside the fire and she immediately set to stripping the wet clothes off of herself. She was secretly glad that Five had suggested it. She already felt as though she couldn't move from the frigid temperatures. After she'd carefully removed everything except her undergarments she unwrapped two of the blankets Hana had given them and wrapped them around her tightly, covering herself up to her chin. She wanted to take Five's blankets as well but he'd need them and she couldn't do that to him. As carefully as she could she laid her clothes on the ground in between the space heater and the fire just as Five returned with an armful of assorted wood that he'd found with much difficulty having nothing to cut it with. He dumped the wood onto the ground and glanced up at Myra who was wrapped in blankets but a portion of her bare shoulder was exposed-

-a shock ran through him-

-but he shook of the shock. A natural, physical reaction, yes, but it didn't mean anything. He sat down cross-legged across the fire from Myra and he began to dig through his backpack for some food, seeing if there was anything that needed to be cooked over the fire. He was distracted by the sound of chattering teeth, however, and looked over to Myra who was shivering under the two blankets. He sighed and began to take off his coat and his hat. "What are you doing?" Myra asked.

"Here. You need this more than I do." He went around the fire and wrapped the coat around her shoulders and gently slid the hat onto her head over her ears.

"T-thank you," she said. It really did help but she felt guilty all he had now was gloves and a sweater.

"I'll be fine, I promise," Five reassured her, reading her mind.

"So high and noble," Myra said as she sat in front of the fire, the coat and hat helping to trap more heat but she still felt frigid as all hell. Five shook his head with a small smile on his face but didn't respond. He pulled a tin can out of the backpack and inspected it.

"Any bets on what's in here?"

"I hope it's fruit but somethings telling me Hana was more of a beans person." Five stabbed the can with a pocket knife that had been thrown into the bag and he pulled back the lid, staring at the food with disappointment. During the apocalypse he'd lived off of old, canned food and even with the Commission he hadn't exactly feasted on delicacies all the time. The frequent time jumps always made him feel nauseous and never quite right so as a result, he'd never developed much of an appetite. Simply ate what he needed to to survive and grow stronger. He tipped the can over to Myra to reveal, you guessed it, baked beans. He gingerly set the can on the edge of the fire in order to heat before wrapping himself in his own blankets. The pair stared at the flickering flames, entranced by the dancing fire, each hopping onto two completely separate trains of thought.

Myra's mind was wandering to her family, to what had happened to them. She wondered if they were being subjected to awful horrors and tortures thanks to Seus or if they'd been thrown back in time like she'd been. She wasn't sure what option horrified her more: them being tortured and killed or them being thrown where she'd been with no means of her getting them back. In all of her years on the prehistoric Earth she'd always sworn that Seus killing her would've been better but sitting here she got selfish thoughts that for her siblings, alive was better than nothing. She needed them to survive. If one of them died… well, Myra wasn't sure how the Umbrella Academy had coped with Five's disappearance and Ben's death. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle that.

Five, on the other hand, stared into the flames and wondered if it would ever end. If the apocalypse would ever be pushed back far enough where it wasn't his issue anymore. If all of these impending dooms and existential threats would be gone- first Vanya's powers and now Seus? He wished none of this had come to him and it wasn't an uncommon thought for him to wish, for a few fleeting moments, that he hadn't been born. Though, he always secretly knew that his superiority and abilities were a blessing by the universe and perhaps its own way of saving the human race. Still, sometimes Five wished he could be _normal._ Do things a normal young adult in their twenties should be doing. Not huddling together in a small and dark cave with a girl eating a can of baked beans while they hid from people who wanted their heads. But, deep down, Five c _raved_ this. And he hated that part of him. Hated his addiction to solving things bigger than himself, to seeking things to solve and disasters to divert- or cause.

Both of them, though, couldn't get one thing out of their head: their little foray on the ice together. Five had never felt that alive and that free before and was surprised to find himself yearning for those feelings again. Myra was completely intrigued by Five. He'd always been cold in his own way, calculating and always thinking of what his next move would be and while she enjoyed his company and what he was able to offer in friendship she'd never really thought about him in any manner other than a manner that one may look at a coworker they happened to particularly liked. But on that ice, the humanity he'd displayed… she wanted to see that Five more. She just didn't know what she could do to draw it out.

Five glanced up at her and notice her shaking had substantially eased but she was clearly still cold as she sat there swaddled up, shivering as she watched the can heat up in the fire. Five figured it had been long enough and grabbed the can with his gloved hand before scooching around the fire to sit next to Myra after he'd procured two forks from the bag- Hana had really thought of _everything-_ handing one to Myra. "Bon appetit," Five said and the two began to scrape the beans out of the can together. Five had to turn a _hard_ blind eye as the movements of Myra's eating exposed some of her bare skin under her blanket. He found his eyes continually being drawn but he urged his body's instincts to stop.

"So what do you think is even in Seattle?" Myra inquired. Five shrugged and he saw something in Myra's eyes that revealed she knew more than she was letting on.

"What do you know?"

"Well… this might sound like a crazy hunch, but when Vanya found out what happened to Sissy… she had moved to Seattle and died there. I mean, probably a stretch, but maybe the woman who owned that store needed to send something to Sissy. I don't know how they're related, but… I think whatever is at that address will reveal some dangerous secrets about Seus that he wanted to stay hidden."

"Let's hope he doesn’t suspect that that's our destination, then."

"If you would've told me eight years ago that I'd be naked in a cave sharing a can of beans with you, Five, then I probably wouldn't made Allison rumor me into running away and never coming back," Myra suddenly joked after swallowing a mouthful of chewed beans. Five nearly spit his food out.

"Come on," he said with a full mouth. "This is the pinnacle of existence."

"I don't know," Myra said, sarcastically sighing and shaking her head. "Sometimes I wonder if Seus really did get me and this is my own personal version of hell he's putting me through this time." Five scraped some more beans out.

"If anything, it's the opposite. I'm the best thing Seus would be able to conjure in your head. Maybe you died and this is actually heaven, some form of higher existence-"

"If it were, we would not be eating a can of _beans."_

"Fair enough."

So, they sat and laughed together as they devoured the can of beans and then some more food while their bodies warmed not from the fire but from the comfort and familiarity they brought to each other.


	25. Tell Me Your Sins

"You know, you could be the most powerful out of any of us but you have to be so valiant," Shawn said from beside Allison. They were sitting in the backseat of a car that had passed by on the road and they'd managed to flag down; the farmer driving the beat up car didn't seem to recognize them but as to not take any chances, Shawn was finally able to convince Allison to rumor the man into driving them to the nearest town. A few cars had passed them without stopping but Allison always refused to rumor an innocent person into doing her bidding which absolutely infuriated Shawn. Eventually, though, walking along the road with what seemed to be endless cornfields lining it had gotten to her and she'd caved.

"Not hurting innocent people is what it takes to be valiant now?" Allison said, raising her eyebrow. The man in the front seat hummed a tune as if he couldn't hear the pair which is exactly what Allison had intended for him to do. He periodically checked his rear view mirror and Shawn felt creeped out when he saw the man's eyes hit him but not fully register that Shawn was there.

"You're not hurting anyone," Shawn responded.

"Still using my powers on an innocent person."

"Compared to the stuff I've done with my powers getting a farmer to drive us to town isn't so bad," Shawn reminded Allison.

"Okay, serial killer, what could you have possibly done that was so bad?"

"Nothing of that nature but let's just say sometimes simple mischief hurts more than you think," Shawn chuckled. She sighed and leaned back in the seat, crossing her arms. The both of them just wanted to get to the nearest civilization possible and see if they could figure out what had happened to their siblings and if they were in the same year at all. Allison was worried they'd been scattered across time again while Shawn was more relieved that Seus hadn't decided to drop them next to a tyrannosaurus rex like he had Shawn's sister. Either way, Allison was just glad that she wasn't stranded alone this time around.

* * *

While Myra seemed to thrive on sleep, Five was used to running on as little as possible and so his body didn't want to seem to rest. He'd laid down next to Myra, the back of her shivering body pressed against his in attempts to add body heat to the list of things keeping them warm. But, sleep didn't seem to want to come to Five just yet. He'd laid awake for he didn't know how long until he realized the fire had died down almost too far and gently got up as to not disturb Myra before piling the wood back onto the fire. He supposed one of them should keep watch for a majority of the night, anyways, just in case. He knew how dangerous it was to let your guard down. Deep down he knew he was just growing tired of the nightmares that riddled his mind and he'd do anything to keep them at bay. Do anything to have his family die over and over again in his head. To keep the Handler from his dreams. To not have to watch Myra die in the booth of that diner.

After he put more wood on the fire he went and sat next to Myra with a sigh, staring at the flames when he just so happened to glance down at her sleeping face. Much to his surprise, her face was drenched in sweat which was strange for the amount of shivering she was producing. Her face was crinkled in her sleep and he noticed just how intense the shivering was even with the heat of the space heater, the renewed fire, the blankets, the coat, the hat. He unwrapped one of his own blankets from his shoulders and laid it on her, tucking the corners around her shoulder and even taking the care to tuck the edges underneath her body. He didn't know why he cared so much, but he did, so he sacrificed one of his two blankets for her. Still, the shivering didn't stop and Five found the sweat dousing her body, some of it visible through the blankets to be concerning. He reached out with his hand and leaned over her body, pressing the back of his hand against her forehead.

She was burning up. Shit, Five thought to himself. Walking through the snow in drenched clothes must've caused her to get sick- he didn't know, maybe it was the beans, but all he knew is that she was running a high fever. He wasn't exactly sure what to do now. Wait for it to break, maybe? He knew he'd be fine with the fire and the space heater so he unwrapped his last blanket and tucked it around her body in an attempt to get her fever to break. He looked around desperately before resorting to piling more wood onto the fire to make it grow- it was the only thing he could think of- but wait! Hana had thought of everything in those backpacks. He pulled his close to his and began to rifle through all of the odds and ends Hana had stuffed in there, mostly food and other practical items but absolutely no medicine. Perhaps she hadn't had any or perhaps she'd just forgotten. He set the backpack down with a frustrated groan. He'd just have to wait her illness out and hope to the makers that it didn't get any worse.

He sat back and watched her sweat and shiver, unsure of what to do next. His mind traveled back to the first time he'd gotten seriously ill in the apocalypse, delirious for days and stuck in an endless cycle of fever dreams. Delores had urged him to get to a hospital but he didn't have the strength to lift himself up. He could barely move his arm to his mouth to drink water- he thought he'd die there. He'd still been a child then, only eighteen years old and afflicted with some disease that was surely curable in the modern world but deadly post apocalypse. On the fifth day as if by some miracle his fever had broke and he'd crawled himself to the remains of a clinic, rummaging through the concrete and bricks and found some antibiotics. He'd nursed himself back to health with the help of Delores, thankfully. Looking back at Myra, he was glad she wasn't alone right now.

The night passed on and her fever only grew worse. At one point she'd stirred from her sleep giving Five hope only to promptly empty the remains of her stomach onto the cave floor before passing back out again. And worse, she'd begun to murmur deliriously, calling names of people that weren't there and pushing away hands that Five couldn't see. At one point she'd begun to freak out so bad that Five had to cradle her head in his lap, gently stroking her hair to soothe her back to sleep. He stared down at her face as she twitched and murmured in her dreams, sweat soaking through Five's pants. He didn't mind. She was sick and he knew that he couldn't leave her like this. Ordinarily he might've just left her with a majority of the supplies and jumped away to save his family and the world but he couldn't do that. He couldn't leave her. Not like this. As far as Five knew she was the only thing he had left, his family out there in the unknown, maybe even dead. No; he owed this much to himself. To Myra.

He was beginning to grow seriously worried about her rapidly deteriorating condition- she must've developed some sort of pneumonia from the cold. He knew she pulled through. She was too strong to die in a shivering heap on the floor of a cave. He began to grow incredibly worried when her breathing was no longer just labored but rattled through the cave, liquid caught in her lungs. Every once and a while she'd cough horribly and she continuously vomited up stomach phlegm that was speckled was blood. Five began to realize that this wouldn't sort itself out and he had to do something- but what? Her head was still in his lap and he held her hair as she coughed and vomited, rubbing her temples and every once in a while dabbing the sweat off of her face. He wasn't sure if she even realized here but every once and a while she'd nestle her head into Five's lap and something in him stirred. He knew what he needed to do but the thought of her being alone in here scared him. "I'm sorry," Five whispered, gingerly placing his hand on Myra's face before gently removing himself from under her head and laying it on the floor. He crawled out of the cave into the light of day- it must've been nearly two days since she'd fallen sick, he'd lost track of time tending to her, apparently- and disappeared in a flash of blue.

When he reappeared he was next to a store- upon landing he swayed a little, woozy from the rather long jump, his body aching as his atoms worked to sort themselves back together again. He glanced around and shoved his hands in his pocket after raising his hood above his head. He kept his head ducked and low to conceal his face as much as possible before walking around the side of the store and walking in. A small bell chimed and Five noticed that there was only a few other patrons in here and none of them paid any notice to him. "Hello," the cashier greeted to which Five promptly dismissed and made his way to the pharmacy section. He quickly glanced over the shelves before carefully selecting out a few vials of medicines and as a precaution, gauze, tweezers, and other first aid items. He'd gotten a decent amount into his pockets and more than enough of what he needed for Myra when he felt the presence of someone approaching him. "Sir, if we could ask you to please-" but the shop clerk was left confused as all hell when the man shoving items into his pockets disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Five reappeared just outside of the store just as the sirens began and he began to walk at a brisk pace before jumping back to the forest across the highway, periodically jumping as he made his way back to Myra. He hoped she was okay- he didn't know what he'd do if he went back and she wasn't. He was already cursing himself for not jumping back to before she'd fallen in the water, he could've avoided all of this then and there. At this point he didn't trust himself to jump back a few days in time without inevitably messing something up. His stomach churned and anxiety welled in his chest. He hoped it wasn't too late for the medicine to counteract the effects of her illness- after this, Five only had one option left and it's one he sword he'd never resort to ever again. He wasn't even sure if Myra was worth it.

Losing patience, Five jumped directly back in front of the cave, his body screaming in pain but he paid no mind to the soreness as he ducked into the cave. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was still alive and breathing no matter how laboriously. His hands fumbled for the correct vials in his pocket and he went and sat near her again, placing her head in his lap as he lowered the mouth of the vial to her mouth. "Take this," he murmured as he put the mouth in between her lips. She mumbled something incomprehensively feebly, not doing anything. "Please," Five quietly pleaded. As if she'd heard him he watched her lips begin to softly suck some of the brown liquid from the vial. He made sure half of it was gone before he took it away and using the some method, gently goaded her into drinking some water.

This had to work. Five hated the only option he had left if it didn't.

* * *

They'd traipsed through the desert for only ten minutes before Luther started whining about how hungry he was and how they were going to find food in the middle of the desert which lead to an argument between him and Wallace on whether to spend their energy looking for food or water. Wallace thought it would be fine to split up but Luther seemed to be terrified of that idea and insisted they all stay together, physically blocking the boy when he'd tried to walk away. Vanya meekly stood aside with futile attempts to intervene but her voice was too soft for either of the men to hear. Eventually she grew tired of their arguing and sighed, stopping as they continued to walk. They'd walked for several more feet until they'd realized that Vanya had stopped and they shut up where they stood, turning around curiously to see what Vanya was doing.

To their pleasant surprise they saw Vanya with hair arms raised and a glowing white halo around her as droplets of water lifted from the dry floor of the desert. "Oh my god, Vanya!" Wallace exclaimed, sprinting forward and closing one of the floating drops of water in his mouth. It felt so refreshing in the dry heat. As Luther and Wallace pranced around to capture the drops of water in their mouth, Vanya smiled with satisfaction. She knew that she was more than just a bomb.

* * *

Five had just recovered another large pile of wood for the fire and had gone back to his position with Myra's head on his lap. Her fever had broken a few hours previous and now it was evident that her body was getting some true rest in order to heal the rest of her from the illness- Five supposed they were lucky things hadn't gotten worse. He wasn't sure what he would've done but he didn't enjoy dwelling on the past. He'd just begun to nod off when he felt Myra suddenly shift in his lap- his eyes flew open and he watched her sit up, rather disorientated and very obviously still feeling a little ill. He felt all of the muscles in his body relaxed when she looked around, conscious and lucid for the first time in days. "Good morning," Five murmured.

"How long have I been sick for?" Myra immediately inquired. She'd understood that she was ill and while she hadn't really realized what had been going on she had fuzzy memories of Five forcing her to take in water and vile-tasting medicine. Five sighed and twiddled his thumbs together. He considered lying to her but he knew that Myra would know.

"Four days."

Myra's stomach dropped. She'd kept them back for four days? Her siblings could be dead by now- or worse, caught by Seus. So many things could've happened in the past four days and Five could've achieved so much but instead they were stuck in a cave in the middle of the northern, snowy wilderness waiting out her stupid fucking illness. "You should've left me behind," Myra said in a low tone. Five struggled with a response. He'd considered the idea numerous times throughout the past few days, figuring that if she'd recovered on her own she'd have the wits to get herself to Seattle and possibly even find Five but in the end, he knew that without him there she would likely succumb to the illness. As hardened as he'd become from living in the post-apocalyptic world and working for the Commission he hadn't been able to bring himself to leave her. So, he answered as simply as he could.

"I couldn't."

"You could've- Five, you could've found everyone by now! I would've found you."

"Well, it's too late for that now. We can start moving again in a few hours after the sun sets," Five said, retrieving his coat from the floor of the cave where it had fallen off of Myra. He slipped his arms into the sleeves and true warmth flooded through his body. He sure was happy to have that against instead of simply relying on the fire and the long-dead space heater to warm him.

"We don't have that kind of time, we have to go now," Myra said, attempting to stand up but doubling over in a coughing fit. Her throat and her lungs burned from a combination of the nasty sickness and all of the stomach acid that had come up her throat while vomiting.

"Woah there, killer. You need a little bit, alright? Nasty sickness you just got over. Lucky we didn't have to do anything more drastic," Five said. "Besides, you gotta be hungry." He rifled through the backpack that had been beside him and pulled out a bagel that Grace had wrapped up for them, figuring the bread would be the easiest on her stomach right now. Myra opened her mouth to argue but when she saw the food her stomach rumbled and she realized just how ravenous she was from keeping her stomach nice and empty the past few days. With a small frown on her face she plucked the bagel out of Five's hand and began chewing on small bites at a time but deep down in her something warmed knowing how Five had taken care of her during her illness. She knew she'd never be able to get him to admit it, though. She knew he'd claimed that he'd stood by and watched her body heal itself on its own. "You know, you look like Luther when you eat like that," Five calmly remarked as Myra tore apart the bagel. She glared at him and the corners of Five's lips curled into a small, nearly unnoticeable smile. He was glad that things were back to normal and he was quite glad to see that she was okay.

Soon after Myra had gotten a bite to eat they'd departed from their cave. Five had wanted to give her just a few more hours to regain her bearings but Myra insisted she'd be quite alright, and Five had to admit that he was impressed on how she pushed through the walking as weak as the illness had left her even if he was leading and plowing a majority of the snow out of the way. The cold air burned her lungs and her muscles were still screaming but it felt good to move and to be outside. She only hoped that by the time things inevitably turned into a fight she'd be ready.

It was so frigid that Myra had resorted to charging the heater with a shock and Myra and Five carried it in between them with one hand each on it. It kept the sides of their bodies warm and every once in a while their fingers would brush against each other. Neither of them thought the other paid much attention to it but Myra was glad for the small amount of contact and even Five didn't shy away. He noticed how easily she was growing short of breath but she didn't say anything and didn't complain so Five let her push herself to whatever she was comfortable with but admittedly kept a close eye on her to ensure that she was alright. He didn't want to waste any more time if she overexerted herself too much and needed some extra rest. They'd begun to theorize what she'd contracted out of boredom. Five, being the logical one, immediately jumped to the most likely conclusion.

"It was probably just some sort of pneumonia from you being in wet clothes for so long," he reasoned. Myra agreed but for the sake of boredom decided to play.

"Could be, like, a brain-eating disease," she toyed. Five immediately noticed the humor in his voice and decided to play along. He'd nothing better to think about, anyways.

"Brain cancer, maybe."

"No no, think more wide-scale."

"Cancer in your entire nervous system?"

"I'm thinking that you just aren't good enough with your power and you messed up some calculations and my body is permanently damaged."

Five flinched a little. "That one stung a little." Myra shrugged.

"Well, be better and don't make that a possibility," she joked. Secretly she was glad she was eliciting the human side of Five more and more. She quite enjoyed his company and his sense of humor when he actually decided to channel himself into that rather than fretting about saving the world or saving his siblings. In fact, the fact that he'd fallen silent and a small scowl settled on his face signified that he'd fallen out of his humor. Myra frowned a little. His moods shifted so quickly and she found that hard to navigate. At least with her siblings she could generally understand their feelings but Five was an entirely different creature due to the circumstances he'd been put through. "You ok?" Five sighed. He didn't want to answer but he knew how persistent she could be and he thought to himself that talking about his thoughts in the middle of the quiet and serene woods may even be a little cathartic.

"You know, I wasn't good enough with my powers once and due to that, the first apocalypse happened. And then the second happened, too, because I couldn't simply bring us all back to the same place at the same time. And now there's a possibility of a third because I couldn't even keep all of us together," Five mumbled, feeling sorry for himself. Myra's pinky reached and wrapped itself around Five's. She felt for him, she really did.

"But we wouldn't be here now and the world would be gone if it weren't for your powers. You weren't too weak if you're strong enough to save the world twice and possibly even a third time," Myra gently comforted. Five looked off into the distance with a far-away look in his eyes. He just couldn't bring himself to believe her words. "And if it weren't for all of that happening we never would've met. Not like this," she softly said. She'd come to care greatly for Five and it was evident that Five was feeling the same way as well seeing as he'd tended to her illness for days when his family was out there. Those very feelings were what conflicted Five so much and as much as he enjoyed mentally tormenting himself he decided to push those away into the back of his mind to deal with later like he always did. Five opened his mouth to respond, turning and looking at Myra, their pinkies still wrapped around each other when he heard a loud crack and suddenly, he was falling through the ground.

The moment that Five had felt his feet dip below ground level he disappeared in a blue flash and reappeared several feet away from Myra. Her focus, however, was singled onto the hole in the ground that had just opened up. It was visible through the sight of several broken wooden planks that Five stepped on and had broken through. "What the hell?" Five said, walking up to the structure in the ground and peering through. Underneath the wooden planks, several feet down was some sort of round metal door. Myra and Five shared a concerned look.

"What do you think it is?" Myra asked. After all, they were in the middle of the wilderness with no civilization all too close.

"I don't know," Five replied, looking back down at the door. The sun was beginning to rise and the night was fading away. They were going to have to stop soon to rest as it was. Myra didn't want to admit it but she was sore and exhausted and wanted to stop about an hour ago but was too proud to admit that.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Myra said, motioning to the door. "It can't be that harmful, the wood and metal look old and we're in the middle of nowhere."

"I suppose you're right," Five replied. He got down onto his knees and reached into the hole, gripping the handle of the metal door. It was much heavier and more stuck than Five had expected and he grunted as he pulled on the thing. It slowly began to budge with a loud and indignant groan, the metal obviously having not been moved in years. Five grunted as he worked on the door and eventually it swung open, leaning against the side of the hole. Stale air emerged from the hole as it opened and a flurry of dust came with it. Five covered his face and coughed a bit while Myra peered down the dark hole from where she was standing. Nothing was visible. It was completely dark. So, while Five was leaning back she sent out a spark into the hole and was surprised to find a cement floor not too far below. Five had looked just in time to see that as well. He looked up to Myra who just stood there and shrugged. "It might be a safe place for us to sleep, and more importantly, warm. What's the harm in checking it out?"

There were about a thousand dangers that immediately popped into his head but he knew all of them were unlikely and none of them were anything he couldn't deal with. Sighing, he swung his feet into the hole and jumped in. Myra watched Five slip into the hole and peered down. "You okay?" Myra said.

"Well, I don't know because I can't see," Five shouted back.

"Hold on, I'll be right down," she said, swinging her feet into the hole. She knew her body was going to be mad at her for jumping down but without too much though she jumped right down and landed next to Five albeit very shakily. She stood up with a deep breath and held her palm facing up. A small ball of electricity hovered above her hand, casting light all around them and allowing them to see what exactly they'd found. "Oh my god."

**Author's Note:**

> Everything in this story belongs to Gerard Way and Netflix. I only own Myra and the personalities of the other original characters I've created.


End file.
